Keep Holding On
by fffan231
Summary: Another battle with Skulker just seems to be another one of his confusing games. But something is not right, as Danny starts to experience something terrible that he cannot explain, and that can put everyone he cares about in danger. DxS Danny and Sam.
1. Chapter 1

Skulker felt proud of himself as he looked at the glass tube in his hand. A small tendril of smoke rose from the green liquid inside, along with a small whisper of air as he poured it into a small dart. After setting the tube down onto the table in front of him, he picked up the dart's lid and carefully screwed it on.

Taking one of his mechanical fingers, he pressed a button on the arm of his ecto-skeleton, opening a compartment. Inside was a hand-sized dart gun, which he pulled out and aimed at an imaginary enemy. With a small chuckle at his momentary game, he opened the lid and slid the dart into the gun before cocking it into place.

He smiled at the gun. He had worked hard to find what was inside it, feeling it was what was finally going to help him catch his most desired prize. He had hunted it for so long, and it had slipped out of his grasp.

But he wouldn't take it anymore. The ghost boy seemed to defeat him every time he tried to catch him, no matter his plans or his power. Danny Phantom and his friends always managed to beat him, no matter what he did. But now, he felt he finally had the key to success.

But he wasn't going to make it that simple. He had been defeated by the ghost boy and his pesky friends too many times, and had been humiliated on many occasions. He wanted to capture him, but he also wanted revenge. He wanted it to match the frustration that had built in his own mind after failing his hunt every time. He wanted them to suffer.

And he had learned that the best way to attack an enemy is to attack his heart.

Satisfied with his work, he placed the gun back into its compartment. With the soothing thought of getting great revenge on his biggest enemy, he unsheathed his mechanical wings and rocket booster.

"Let the hunt begin."

- - - - -

Danny found himself staring at her again. Lately, he just couldn't keep his eyes away from her own. She was not looking back at him, as she was having a conversation with Tucker about their homework as they walked home from school, but the words were barely audible to his ears. She made a comment to her friend, followed by a smile at her own comedy. Danny's stomach felt light as it spread across her face, and a familiar feeling lifted his heart.

He was in love with his best friend.

It was something that he had taken a long time to realize. Others seemed to know his feelings for her before he did, but they never told him outright. They would just leave small, teasing comments or sly looks that he would deny. But they always seemed to be thrown in his direction whenever he was with her, and he had finally pushed away his denial long enough to realize that they were right.

But he never had the courage to tell her. He was too afraid of her reaction. He thought it was possible that she felt the same way because of the signals from other people, but he didn't want to count on it. If she didn't feel the same, his feelings might make her feel uncomfortable. He decided to just stay her friend, deciding that it was better than risking losing her all together.

Just then, Danny froze as he realized that Sam's eyes had shifted, and were now looking back at him. His feet continued to carry him along the sidewalk, but his eyes locked onto hers. He tried to pull them away, knowing it would be obvious for her to find him staring at her, but he couldn't do it. He started to feel panicky as a small frown of confusion came to her face. _Come on! Stop staring!_ he told himself. But her eyes kept him in a trance, refusing to let him look away.

"Danny!"

Hearing his name called finally gave him the kick he needed to look away from Sam. He looked next to him at his friend Tucker as he realized that was who had called him.

"What?" he asked, able to keep a casual air in his voice.

"Make Sam stop bugging me about my homework!" the techno-geek whined. He hoisted the backpack on his back, which was packed with schoolbooks. "She says it's my own fault I have all this work, and I should just do it without complaint!"

Danny paused before looking back at Sam. She no longer seemed perturbed by the fact that he had just been staring at her. Instead, she just smiled as their friend whined. Maybe she hadn't noticed?

Danny looked back at Tucker. "Well, you should," he said in a teasing voice.

"Ha, see?" Sam said with a teasing smile, acting as if she had just won the argument with Danny's help.

Tucker looked away from them both and said, "Fine." He tried to say it with annoyance, but there was good humor in it. A small smile crept onto his lips as he said, "But you guys will be sorry when I end up being a mindless zombie caused by too much reading." Danny and Sam chuckled before exchanging a look. As their eyes met, Danny again found it hard to look away from Sam. He figured she hadn't noticed the first time, but he didn't want her to notice this time.

However, the eye contact was broken as his ghost sense went off.

As soon as the blue tendril wafted out of sight, Danny looked around for the ghost. His fighting instincts instantly kicked in, ready to fight the ghost and protect his friends.

"Oh great," Tucker whined. "I have to carry this heavy bag, _and_ help fight a ghost!? This just isn't right!"

His comment was brushed off by his friends as they looked around. Just as Danny's eyes caught sight of a dumpster in an alley, noting it as a place to go ghost, he heard Sam call his name.

"Danny! It's Skulker!" she said, pointing at a floating figure about one hundred feet down the street. The few people that were around were now running away as fast as they could, relaying their fear to the world with their screams.

As soon as Danny caught sight of Skulker, he hurried behind the dumpster, threw off his backpack to lighten his weight for speed, and started his transformation.

A ring formed around his waist, then split in two and spread up to his head and down to his feet, slowly changing his clothes into a black and gray jumpsuit. It past his chest, revealing the D on his outfit, then spread to his head and his feet, leaving his hair white, and his shoes now gray boots.

Without a second's hesitation, he took flight and flew straight for the mechanical ghost, Sam and Tucker following on foot.

He was slightly confused as he saw the ghost just floating there, arms folded and a grin on his face. He considered taking the advantage and getting the first shot, but decided to see what Skulker wanted before attacking. It was unlikely that Skulker just wanted to talk, but he would avoid the fight if he could.

Stopping his flight and floating eye level a few cautious feet away from the ghost, Danny said, "What do you want, Skulker?" He heard his friends footsteps come to a halt a few feet behind him.

Skulker unfolded his arms and let his grin grow. "Well, what I want really isn't your business, is it?" Without letting the ghost boy respond, he turned around and flew off with a great burst from his rocket. Danny immediately took chase after him. He thought he might want him to follow, but he couldn't let him get away. He kept a good pace with him, but kept himself from attacking. He didn't want to provoke Skulker until he found out what he wanted.

Within a few seconds, they had passed a few blocks at their speed, causing any passerby to flee in fear at the sight of the ghosts. Danny ignored them and followed Skulker as he made a sharp turn into the park.

The mechanical ghost flew through the open park, stopping near a small group of trees. He turned to face Danny, who had arrived seconds after he did.

Danny found himself just as they were before, floating feet away from each other. Again, he asked with a little more force, "What do you want, Skulker!?"

Skulker just smiled. Without a word, he unsheathed a gun from his right forearm and shot a missile at the ghost boy.

Danny easily dodged it, letting it explode on the ground behind him. The attack now let him know that Skulker did want to fight, so he powered his ghost ray before putting up both hands and firing at him.

Skulker flew upwards to avoid the green ray, letting it pass underneath him. His hand itched to pull out his dart gun and finish this part of the hunt now, but stayed his hand. He only had one shot, and he knew the ghost boy would easily dodge it. He had to wait until he was weakened or distracted.

With that in mind, he unsheathed a gun from each of his shoulders, wasting no time in shooting multiple missiles at his enemy. Danny went intangible, knowing he couldn't dodge the small projectiles in time. As soon as they went through him, he turned off the power and shot another ray at Skulker. The ghost did a small loop to dodge it, followed by another aerial spiral as he caught sight of a second ray heading at him.

Just then, Sam and Tucker came running from the entrance of the park. They saw the ghost battle ahead and ran over to help. They didn't have a Fenton Thermos, but they would do what they could.

Skulker finished his small spiral after dodging another round of the ghost boy's plasma rays. He glared after him as he realized that weakening him would take a little longer than he thought. As he took the momentary cease-fire to decide his next move, he saw the ghost boy's friends heading his way. As he did, he decided to try a distraction. Lifting his mechanical arm, he released a large missile in their direction.

Danny saw Skulker shoot the missile and prepared to dodge it, but was surprised as he realized that the ghost's gaze was not on him, and the missile flew past him. His eyes followed the projectile, and he gasped as he realized that it was heading straight for his friends. He hadn't even realized that they were there.

Before he could react, the missile came in contact with the ground in front of Sam and Tucker, causing a panicked yell coming from each of them. They immediately took cover behind a large tree, blocking the battle from their view.

Just as he saw them disappear, Danny turned his head toward Skulker and prepared to fire a plasma ray. But just as he did, he saw a bigger-than normal gun come out of Skulker's back and shoot a large missile at him.

Danny was able to fly upwards and dodge it just before it hit him. As soon as it passed him, he shot a double-handed ray at Skulker. He smiled in success as it hit the ghost in the chest and sent him flying backwards.

Before he could prepare another shot, he heard a resounding crack from behind him. When he turned his head, he could see the tree that Sam and Tucker were behind had been hit by the missile, and was already falling in their direction. Their hands were over their ears, clearly shocked by the sound of the explosion, but unaware of the danger they were in.

Danny immediately put on a burst of speed and flew to help them. Just when the trees branches were about to crash onto their heads, Danny wrapped his arms around each of their waists and flew out from underneath it. No sooner had they cleared the danger did the tree crash into the ground with a great rumble.

Danny landed with his back to the tree and set his friends in front of him, keeping a protective hand on each of their shoulders. When the resounding crash faded, he turned his head long enough to glance at the heap of leaves that lay on the ground. He cringed, then looking back his friends. They were finally aware of what they had just escaped from, and were breathing heavily.

Danny removed his hands from his friends' shoulders and looked at their shocked faces.

"Are you guys ok?" he asked.

Sam nodded feebly as Tucker said, "Yeah, we're fine."

Danny sighed in relief. That was too close for comfort. If he had waited another second, they would have been crushed.

He looked back at his friends. He was about to tell them to go somewhere safer, but stopped as he saw a look of horror on Sam's face. She looked past him and said, "Danny, look out!"

As soon as the words left her mouth, Danny spun around and used both of his hands to keep his friends behind him. As soon as he did, he felt a sharp pain shoot through his right ab.

"Ah!" he yelped as he was hit. He looked down to see a small dart protruding from his stomach. He reached a hand to it and pulled it out, leaving a small sting as it did. He momentarily looked at it before looking up. He saw Skulker floating a few yards away from them, a small hand gun in his hand and still pointed at him.

Skulker let a wide grin spread across his face before lowering his arm. Without a word, he turned around and flew off through the park.

"Hey, get back here!" Danny yelled, wasting no time in flying after him, dropping the dart as he took off. But he only made it about thirty feet when a sudden drowsiness clouded his mind. Within seconds, his vision blurred, and everything went black.

Sam and Tucker watched as Danny slowed in flight. Before they knew what was happening, he stopped, and began to fall from his spot twenty-feet above ground.

"Danny!" they yelled in unison, running out to him. As they did, Danny hit the ground with a small thud. His body rolled several times before it came to a stop, leaving him laying on his stomach. As his body lay still, it changed back to his human form. Seconds later, the two reached their friend and knelt down next to him.

"Danny!" Sam said frantically, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Danny, come on man!" Tucker said, his voice somewhat strained. They had no idea why he just passed out like that, and they were worried.

When they didn't get a response, Tucker carefully, but quickly rolled Danny onto his back. His eyes were closed, and he didn't respond as he was moved.

"Danny!" Sam said, putting her hand back on his shoulder. She searched his face for a sign of consciousness, but there was none.

"What's wrong with him!?" she asked, finding it hard to mask the worry in her voice. She thought she was overreacting, but she couldn't help it. She had seen him fall from higher heights, but he rarely got out of them without injury. But her main concern was that he passed out while he was in mid-air, and they didn't know why.

Tucker shook his head. "I don't know." He studied his friend for a moment as he tried to figure out what happened.

Finally, he realized what it was. Without saying anything to Sam, he got up and ran back to the fallen tree. Sam watched him with confusion as he knelt down and searched the ground for something. He picked up a small object, then got up and ran back to her, kneeling down by Danny.

He held the object up for them both to see. "This is the dart that Danny was hit with."

Sam paused. "Well, what is it?" she asked. She found herself worrying that it might be poison.

Tucker took a second more to study the dart before answering, "I think it's a tranquilizer."

Sam felt a weight lifted off her shoulders. He was only sleeping, and he didn't appear to have any injuries from the fall.

She sighed. Feeling a bit calmer, she asked, "So, how long is he going to be out?"

Tucker hesitated. "Well, they usually last a few hours."

Sam's eyes widened. "What!?" She started to feel stressed again. What were they supposed to do? "If he's not home soon, his parents will know something is wrong. What are we gonna do?" She started to get a flashback of the last time he had lost consciousness suddenly, after he fought the Lunch Lady. They had to carry him home and tell his parents he was exhausted from schoolwork. Maybe they'd have to do it again.

Before her question could be answered, Sam looked down as she felt Danny's shoulder move under her hand. Tucker looked as he noticed the movement, just in time to see Danny's eyes crack open.

"Danny?" Sam said, putting her other hand on his shoulder. He just blinked lightly with his barely open eyes and let out a small breath. "Hey, can you hear me?" Sam asked.

Danny's head felt cloudy, and he barely recognized a quiet sound as Sam's voice. He turned his head toward it, and saw two very blurry figures next to him. He blinked again, making his head start to clear. He was now aware of the grass underneath him, and wondered why he was on the ground. He was also aware of two hands on his shoulder.

"Hey man, you ok?" he heard Tucker's voice ask. He blinked again to force his vision to clear. He was finally able to see his two friends clearly in front of him, looking at him with worry plain on their faces.

He wasn't sure how to answer Tucker's question, as he didn't know what was going on. Instead, he asked, "What happened?"

Hearing his voice made a smile tug at Sam's lips, realizing that he was ok. Tucker smiled with relief, and decided to answer his friend's question. He lifted the dart up for Danny to see and said, "Skulker shot you with a tranquilizer, and he flew off after you passed out."

_A tranquilizer?_ Danny thought. Somehow, the thought confused him.

Instead of trying to figure it out, he started to sit up. He found it a bit harder than he expected, as the fatigue tried to keep him on the ground.

But he was able to do it as he felt Sam's hands gently support his back and help lift him into a sitting position. When he was upright, his head started to spin, so he put his face in his hands, and closed his eyes, trying to keep himself from passing out. At the same time, he was aware of Sam's hands being placed back on his shoulder. He knew they were hers because of how gentle they were. Despite his spinning head, the feeling made his stomach burn.

Finally, he could think more clearly, so he removed his face from his hands and looked at his friends. He glanced at the dart in Tucker's hand before asking, "How long was I out?"

"Just a couple of minutes," Tucker answered. He looked at the dart as he said, "But it's weird; you should have been out for hours. That's what they usually do."

Danny was puzzled. _Really?_ "Are you sure it's a tranquilizer?"

Tucker looked at the dart again. He considered it, then nodded. "Yeah."

A small frown came to Danny's face. That didn't make any sense. Before he could voice hit thoughts, he realized that Sam hadn't said much since he woke up. He could still feel her hands on his shoulder, her fingers making small squeezes on his shirt occasionally. He looked at her, wondering if something was wrong.

When his eyes made contact with hers, he was a bit surprised to see some worry still in them. He glanced away for a second before asking, "Sam? Are you ok?"

Sam seemed a bit startled as he addressed her. "Yeah, why?" She wasn't aware that her hands hadn't moved from the spot she put them.

A small frown of confusion came to Danny's face at her tone. She sounded surprised at his question, as if it was obvious that she was fine. Instead, he glanced at her hands and said, "Nothing."

Sam followed his momentary gaze, realizing that her hands were still on his shoulder. She quickly pulled them back, trying to hide the blush that appeared on her cheeks. She avoided his eyes and said, "Yeah, you're ok so everything's fine."

Danny let his confused look linger a bit longer before deciding to let the reaction go. She always worried about him when he got hurt, so he shouldn't have been surprised. She just seemed more worried than usual.

Instead, he let his eyes wander back to the dart that was still in Tucker's hand. As he did, he finally realized why the thought of a tranquilizer confused him earlier.

"Wait a minute…" he said. His friends looked at him. "You mean that Skulker was able to knock me out, and he just left without trying to capture me?" Skulker wouldn't leave such a great chance at finally capturing him. Why would he?

At his words, Sam and Tucker exchanged a look. He was right.

They looked back at their friend. "Yeah…" Tucker said. He scratched the back of his head. "He just left."

"But why would he do that?" Sam asked. She seemed to be focusing on the current issue and forgetting her earlier incident.

Danny took a second to think about it. "Well, we'll find out soon enough," he said. "You know Skulker."

Tucker shrugged. "Yeah."

_Well, there's no point in sitting here and trying to figure out one of Skulker's games, _Danny thought. He knew he'd have to get home before his parents worried that he was late.

He put one of his hands on the ground and tried to lift himself up. Instead, his head became foggy as fatigue overtook him again, causing him to fall onto his side.

"Danny!" Sam said, helping pull him back into a sitting position with a hand. "Are you ok!?"

Danny put a hand on his head and said, "Yeah, I'm fine." He closed his eyes and tried to make his head stop spinning. "You don't have to worry so much."

"Well maybe she does," Tucker said, getting up and walking to the other side of Danny. He knelt down and asked, "Can you stand up?"

Danny kept his eyes closed. He hated to admit it, afraid that they'd get overly worried, but said, "I don't know."

Sam and Tucker looked at each other. They exchanged a small nod, then Tucker said, "Well, we'll help you."

They each took one of his arms and carefully lifted him onto his feet. They held him in place as he swayed, then waited until he said he could stand by himself.

"Thanks," he said without looking at them, trying to concentrate on focusing his eyesight. "I'm fine," he added, letting them know he could stand. His friends hesitated, then let him go.

As Danny waited for his head to clear, he thought back to the fight, and how Skulker just flew off. He was getting tired of Skulker's hunts, and getting sick of trying to figure out what he was up to.

Tucker eyed the dart in his hand again. He almost threw it on the ground, then decided against it. Instead, he took his heavy bag off his back, (which he was surprised he was able to run to the park with), and put it in a small pocket.

"What are you doing?" Danny asked, watching his friend with confusion. Tucker put the bag back on his back and said, "I have a feeling we should keep it. It was Skulker's, so that can mean more trouble than we usually know. Plus, it's not a good idea to just leave a ghost item in the park."

"Yeah," Sam agreed.

Danny made a small nod in agreement. Although his head was clear, his body felt like he had just run a marathon. His legs shook underneath him, and hoped Sam and Tucker didn't notice. They didn't, so he said, "We better get home." They nodded in agreement.

He was about to force his tired legs to take him home until he realized that something was missing. He thought for a second, then realized that he left his backpack behind the dumpster.

"Oh man."

"What?" Tucker asked.

"I left my bag at that dumpster."

"Well, let's go get it," Sam said.

"No, it's ok," Danny said. "I'll just go myself. It'll be faster if I just fly, and we passed my house on the way here anyway." The thought made him realize that his parents, supposedly the best ghost hunters in the world, didn't notice two ghosts pass their house. It was fine with him; he didn't feel like getting shot by their weapons and hearing bad puns from his dad.

Sam looked hesitant at Danny's suggestion. "Are you sure you can get there by yourself?" She looked at his face. "You look exhausted."

Danny couldn't help but smile. Instead of answering, he changed to his ghost form. "Sure I can," he said confidently. He hovered a few inches off the ground. "You worry too much Sam." With that, he turned and flew out of the park.

As soon as he was out of sight, Tucker looked at Sam. He put on a teasing smile and folded his arms. "Yeah, about _him_."

Sam turned her head quickly to look at him. She saw his teasing stare, then looked away as a blush formed on her cheeks. "What are you talking about?" she said, trying to sound sincere, but failing miserably. She could feel Tucker's eyes still on her, making her shuffle her feet.

Tucker kept his stare on her, letting his smile grow. "You've known what I've meant for years."

Sam couldn't take his eyes burning into her any longer, so she started walking away. Tucker caught up with her and looked at her, but kept his teasing stare to a minimum.

Sam sighed with frustration, and put her hands over her face. "Could I be anymore obvious!?" she chastised herself. She wasn't able to control her worry for Danny, and almost announced her feelings for him with her actions.

"Aw, come on Sam," Tucker said sincerely, deciding not to torture his friend anymore. He put a hand on her shoulder as she let her hands fall to her sides. "There was nothing wrong with your reaction. It's how you feel, and you can't help it."

Sam lightly shrugged, although she knew he was right. "I just wish I could tell him." She hesitated. Tucker knew her dilemma, but he was ok with her saying it, knowing it would make her feel better. "If I knew he loved me back, I could do it."

Tucker frowned sympathetically. Sam wasn't able to hide her feelings for Danny from Tucker. He had made it his mission ever since the three of them met to get them together. He could tell they liked each other, but they wouldn't admit it. So he decided it was his job to help his friends get together.

But he was only able to make Sam admit it to him. He knew Danny felt the same way about Sam, but he could never get him to admit it. He would always deny it and quickly change the subject. Tucker considered telling Sam about Danny's feelings, but knew it wouldn't be a good idea. Although he was nosy and in their business about their feelings for each other (a talent he was very proud of), he knew it would be best for them to hear it from each other.

Tucker removed his hand from his friend's shoulder. "Well, why not just tell him?" He smiled as Sam looked at him. "You might be surprised."

Sam gave him a sarcastic frown. "Oh really?" she challenged good-naturedly. "So you know everything about my 'relationship' with Danny?"

Tucker put a hand in front of her face and looked away with mock passion. "I do not like to brag about my gifts."

Sam rolled her eyes. "Uh-huh." She smirked. "Well, why don't you use some of that talent to do your homework?"

Tucker put his hand down and glared at her. "Don't start with that again."

- - - - -

Danny felt relieved as he left the park. He didn't have to hide how tired he was now that Sam and Tucker couldn't see him.

He made his way to the dumpster and found his bag still lying where he put it. He reached down and threw it over his shoulders. He hesitated as he considered walking the rest of the way home, but his wobbling legs told him otherwise. It was less tiring to fly.

He took off from behind the dumpster, and made his way toward his house. He landed in front of the steps and, after looking around to make sure no one could see him, went back to his human form.

He started the decent up the stone steps to the front door. Although there were only a few, his legs burned with each step. He guessed that his fatigue was a side effect of the tranquilizer.

When he finally got to the top, he took a second to catch his breath. His legs shook underneath him, and he had to force them to stop as he opened the door. The last thing he wanted was to run into his parents and have to lie again to get out of telling them what really happened.

He kept his gaze on the floor as he walked inside. He just wanted to go to bed now, and not get up until the next day. He would have to explain to his parents where he was the next day, but right now, he didn't care. He just wanted to sleep.

He shut the door behind him and prepared to walk up to his room, but stopped as he saw his older sister Jazz sitting on the couch across the room, looking up at him from the magazine she was reading.

"Hi, Danny," she said with one of her bright smiles.

Danny acknowledged his sister's greeting with a small smile. "Hey, Jazz." Great, his voice sounded tired. Now she was going to panic.

Jazz's smile turned into a frown. "Hey, are you ok?" she put her magazine down and got up. "You sound sick," she said as she rushed over to him.

"I'm fine," Danny insisted. His legs shook as they protested to the fact that he was still standing. He hoped she didn't notice.

"Hey, you're shaking!" Of course she noticed. She stopped in front of him and looked at him as if expecting something horrible. "What happened!?"

Danny put a hand on his head and closed his eyes. "Jazz, will you chill?" He didn't mean for the words to sound forceful, but he was getting frustrated as his body kept reminding him that it was going to fall over any second. Ever since she had found out about his ghost powers, she worried about him constantly.

He calmed his voice before saying, "You sound like Sam."

Despite her worry, Jazz's lips lifted into a smirk. "Oh really? What do you mean by that?" she teased.

Danny waved the comment off with his free hand. "Nothing, just forget it." He didn't feel like letting Jazz tease him about Sam.

Jazz smiled, but let it pass. She knew how Danny felt about Sam. She had tricked him into admitting it with her 'Great Psychiatric knowledge', and was trying to get him to tell Sam. But he refused to, not wanting to ruin the friendship if she didn't feel the same way. But Jazz knew she did feel the same way, through 'Women's Intuition.' (And she thought it was obvious.) But she decided to let him do it when he was ready, just like she waited for him to tell her about his ghost powers.

Pushing aside the momentary teasing, she focused on what was going on. "So what happened?" She eyed him worriedly.

Danny removed his hand from his face and looked at her. "Skulker showed up after school, and shot me with a tranquilizer."

"A tranquilizer!?"

"Jazz, please," Danny groaned. "Do you want Mom and Dad to hear?"

Jazz eyed the door that led to their parent's lab, as she knew that's where they were. She looked back at her brother and said, "Sorry."

Danny nodded. His eyes started to droop, and he felt like he was going to fall asleep any minute.

Jazz tried to keep her voice calmer. "So, what did he want?"

Danny let a tired sigh. "I don't know. He just attacked and left."

Jazz hesitated. "Wait a minute…" She put a hand on her chin and stared off into space, putting on her 'I'm gonna figure out this ghost problem' look. Danny groaned.

"I'm guessing the tranquilizer didn't last long, since you're home almost in time," she started. "And Skulker didn't try to capture you when you were unconscious?" She frowned. "Why?"

Danny just shrugged. He was too tired to try figuring it out now. It could wait. "I don't know, why don't you ask him?" he said. He started walking over to the staircase.

"Wait!" Jazz called. He looked back at her. "Aren't you gonna tell me what happened?"

_I just did,_ he thought. _Oh wait… she wants every excruciating detail, thinking she'll figure it out if she hears it._

"I'll tell you tomorrow." He started the decent up the stairs.

"Where are you going?"

"Bed."

"Ok," she said. "I'll cover for you!"

"Thanks," Danny said so quietly he doubted she heard him. He concentrated on getting up the stairs while keeping himself awake.

Finally, he reached the top of the stairs. He didn't stop to rest as he saw his bedroom door just down the hall. He made his way to it and opened the door. After shutting it behind him, he took his backpack off and dropped it carelessly on the floor. Without a second thought, and without bothering to change his clothes, he walked over to his bed and plopped onto the soft mattress. He rolled from his position on his back to his left side, facing the closed door.

Within seconds, he could feel his consciousness slipping away rapidly. He couldn't wait to just feel the comfort of sleep, ready to get rid of the fatigue and start a new day.

Just before he fell asleep, he heard a small sound. He opened his tired eyes to look around. There was nothing there, so he closed his eyes.

When he heard it again, it sounded like a voice. It made his eyes open again, although he could swear it was coming from inside his head. He lifted his head and looked around. There was nothing there.

He decided that it was just his mind playing tricks on him because he was so tired. Without giving it a second thought, he let himself fall into a deep sleep.

- - - - -

Hi. For anyone who read the origianl version of this story, I'm sorry you had to read something so terrible. I hope that this one is better, and that it will be enjoyed by more people. Next chapter will be up soon. Reviews are always a great thing to get, and it helps me to keep writing.


	2. Chapter 2

As Danny felt himself awake, he could hear a beeping sound. It gradually got louder, his half awake mind wondering what it was. When it didn't stop, it started to get on his nerves.

Forcing his eyes open, he saw that the sound was coming from his alarm clock. He reached his hand over and carelessly hit the off button, making it stop.

Taking a deep breath, he sat up, putting his feet on the floor. He closed his eyes and stretched his arms, making his body feel rejuvenated. He opened his eyes, feeling surprisingly awake. He wasn't sure how long the side effects of the tranquilizer were going to last, but the extra sleep seemed to get rid of his exhaustion, making him feel like it never happened.

_Well, I guess I don't have to worry about that anymore,_ he thought as he stood up. He checked his clock. He was up at a decent time, but decided to get ready for school. He had to tell Jazz about what happened too, and he didn't want to be late on account of having to tell her every detail of the fight.

After changing his clothes and any other small preparations, he went down the stairs and headed into the kitchen.

As he entered, he saw his parents and sister sitting at the table. His Dad looked up from his large stack of pancakes long enough to say, "Hi Danny!"

Hearing her son's name, Maddie put down her newspaper and gave him a smile. "Hi sweetie. Do you feel better?"

"Huh?" Danny asked, suddenly feeling a bit anxious. He momentarily feared they knew about the ghost fight.

Jazz got up from her seat and walked over to him. "Yeah, how do you feel?" She stopped in front of him and said quietly. "I told them you were sick."

_Oh yeah,_ Danny thought. He calmed down, feeling dumb that he had been so paranoid. Now he remembered that Jazz said she'd cover for him.

He turned his attention to his mom. "Yeah, I'm ok."

"Oh good!" Maddie said with a smile. "Now come and eat so you can go to school." She picked her newspaper back up and started reading it.

"Ok," Danny said. He looked at his sister and whispered, "Thanks."

Jazz gave him a small wink. "No problem."

After breakfast, Jack and Maddie said goodbye to their children before heading straight back down to their lab. Apparently they were working on a new feature for the Spectre Speeder, and Jack hadn't stopped blabbering about it throughout the whole meal. Danny didn't really catch most of what he said, but was able to make out that it was an automatic repair system that should be finished within the hour. He found some humor in the fact that his Dad wanted to take it out as soon as it was done to test it. Maddie knew that he'd just crash it purposely to see the repairs, so she insisted that they put it straight back into the garage when it was done. She managed to convince him after telling him that they could make a new invention, and he could name it anything he wanted.

When Danny came back downstairs after getting his backpack from his room, he found Jazz putting a schoolbook in her own bag.

"Ok, so are you gonna tell me what happened?" she asked as she put the bag over her shoulder. "We have enough time."

"Sure," Danny agreed. Being as accurate as he could, he explained to her what happened. He told her everything he remembered, but left out just how much Sam was worrying. He didn't want to hear her try and convince him to tell Sam how he felt.

Jazz put a hand on her chin and pondered his explanation. She didn't feel like there was anything too odd about the incident, just another one of the ghost's games.

"Well, I guess there's not much to worry about," she said as she let her hand fall to her side. She looked at him and said, "Maybe he was just messing with you. You said Tucker kept the dart right?"

Danny nodded. "Yeah."

"Ok. Then we'll have it just in case."

Danny nodded. At least she didn't try to dissect every detail. She realized it wasn't a big deal, just like he did.

"Well, we better get to school," Jazz said. "Need a ride?"

"No thanks. Sam and Tucker should be here any minute." He was glad that he and his friends just walked together to school; letting Jazz drive him right now sounded like a bad idea. She would bug him about Sam the whole way.

"Ok," Jazz said as she got her keys out of her pocket. Danny started opening the front door as she headed for the door that lead to the garage.

Jazz hesitated and looked back at him with a smile. "So, how did Sam react yesterday again, seeing you in a dangerous fight?" she asked in a teasing voice.

"Goodbye, Jazz," Danny called in a somewhat annoyed tone just before shutting the door. Jazz giggled and headed over to the garage.

Danny walked down the stone steps in front of his house and looked to his right. Sam and Tucker were right on time, as he saw them a few yards away.

"Hey man!" Tucker called, both hands on the straps of his over-stuffed backpack.

"Are you ok?" Sam asked, keeping her worried tone to a minimum.

"Yeah," Danny answered as they stopped in front of them. "I just needed to sleep."

"Oh good," Tucker said. He glanced at Sam with an evil smile. "Sam was worried about you."

Danny looked over at Sam. She gave a nervous smile and tried to give an innocent shrug.

Danny looked away as his stomach burned. She worried about him that much? He forced his stomach to settle before saying, "Well, you don't have to."

Sam nodded feebly and said, "Ok. Let's go." Danny nodded and turned around.

Sam took the moment to shoot a venomous glare at Tucker. She formed her hand into a fist and punched him hard on the arm.

"OW!"

Danny's head spun back around as he heard the yell. He found Sam looking at him with an innocent smile, and Tucker rubbing his arm while saying something under his breath.

"Uh…" he said, looking back and forth between them. "What happened?"

"Nothing!" Sam said quickly, rushing over to him. She pushed his back and forced him forward. "Let's go!"

Danny gave her a confused look, but decided to continue forward. Tucker rubbed his arm a little longer before following them.

Danny was glad that the rest of the conversation was kept out of the ghost fight. Instead, they just said how glad they were that it was Friday, and considered doing something after school. They also found that Tucker said he finished all his homework. He claimed it almost killed him, and they were lucky he was there. Danny and Sam just laughed at their friend's exaggeration. Danny also mentioned that he told Jazz about the incident. He didn't want to bring it up, but they asked if everything went ok with his parents. Luckily, the subject was dropped after that.

- - - - -

Finally, the school morning was over. Their last class wasn't together, so they met for lunch outside school and talked about their days so far.

After the meal was finished, Tucker asked, "Danny, do your parents have anything that identifies ghost stuff?"

Danny looked puzzled. "What do you mean?"

Tucker exchanged a glance with Sam. He looked back at Danny and said, "I think we should look into the dart."

Danny silently groaned. He thought the incident was behind them. What was the problem? "Why?"

"We should make sure we know what it is," Sam said. Danny looked at her. She looked dead serious.

Danny was completely confused at their concerns. "We know what it is," he insisted. He wished they wouldn't worry about something that was over.

"Yeah," Tucker started, "But it's just too weird; you were only out for a few minutes, and Skulker just left. Does that make sense to you?"

Danny took a second to think about it. He was right, but he didn't know what they thought they'd find if they looked. "No, but what do you think you're gonna look for?"

"We don't know," Sam said. "But it would be better to be sure."

Danny let a small sigh. Skulker always did things that didn't make sense, so he thought it was just something he did to get on his nerves. But Sam and Tucker seemed to think otherwise.

He looked up as he heard Tucker say, "Have you noticed any weird side effects since yesterday?"

Danny took a second to think about it. Other than his lack of energy, he couldn't think of anything that happened. The small whisper he heard before he fell asleep had been dismissed from his mind as soon as he told himself it was his imagination.

"No."

"Well, that's a good sign, but let's check it anyway," Tucker insisted.

Danny looked back and forth at his friends. Even though he was slightly frustrated, he decided to let them check the dart. If it made them feel better, he'd let them do it.

He couldn't help but smile. He appreciated just how much they cared for him. He looked up at them and said, "Ok." They seemed relieved by his answer.

"So," Tucker asked, "Do they have anything that can identify it?"

Danny took a second to think about it. He knew what most of their inventions were, but they made so many new ones that he lost track.

"I don't know," he said.

Tucker thought for a moment. "Well, we need something that can identify the liquid inside. I checked it and there's still a little bit in there."

Danny wasn't sure if they had anything like that. He wouldn't know until he checked.

He was about to voice his thoughts, but was stopped as the familiar sensation of his ghost breath wafted from his mouth.

At the sight, the three of them all went into ghost search mode. As if on cue, the kids around the school's yard started running away from a green form that floated in the street in front of the school, screaming as if they were being chased by it. The three friends followed the trail of the escaping kids with their eyes, and saw an Ectopuss cackling loudly.

They couldn't help but look at each other with smirks. Sam put up her hands and said in mock fear, "Better run for cover."

"I don't know, I think I'm too scared," Danny said sarcastically.

Tucker laughed at his friend's reactions. "Better get rid of it anyway," he said.

Danny agreed. Ectopusses weren't dangerous, but they could wreak enough havoc to be a problem.

After taking a look around and finding that everyone was too busy running away to catch him in his transformation, he jumped out of his seat and changed to his ghost form.

As soon as his form changed, he took off in flight. Sam and Tucker followed, knowing that Danny didn't need help, but found it entertaining to see such a wimpy ghost get it's but kicked.

As soon as the ghost caught sight of Danny, it blew a raspberry in his direction and flew down the street. Danny rolled his eyes at the ghost's weird humor, and followed it.

It traveled a few blocks before turning into a park. Danny wondered to himself why ghost liked parks so much. He guessed it was because it gave a wide area to fight.

When the Ectopuss reached a spot by a few trees, it turned around and stuck its tongue out at its pursuer. He gave an amused cackle, and started flying farther. Danny ignored the gesture and started to follow it.

Just as he put on a burst of speed, his head suddenly seared with pain. It was so sudden, he couldn't stop a scream from escaping. The pain felt like the sharp crack of a whip, piercing through his mind. The sudden force of it stopped his flight, causing him to fall to the ground, landing on his stomach.

The pain disappeared just as suddenly as it came. He forced his eyes open, his head now throbbing with his heartbeat. He took a deep breath, and pulled himself onto his hands and knees. After shaking his head lightly, he lifted himself onto his feet.

_What was that?_ he wondered. He looked around for the Ectopuss, wondering if it had attacked him somehow. It wasn't there.

Danny frowned. He blinked, hoping it would help his mind to calm. He realized that the ghost was in front of him when the pain started, so it couldn't have been what caused it. What happened?

Suddenly, he heard a loud whisper. He jerked his head behind him, expecting to see someone attack him from behind. He was puzzled as he saw no one there. After turning back around, he slightly jumped as he heard another whisper. It was then that he realized that it was coming from inside his head.

_What is going on?_ he thought, putting a hand on his head. Before he could try and figure it out, his eyes widened as he heard a voice in his head.

_'Well, now I have your attention, don't I?'_

Danny froze. It was so unfriendly, dripping with malice. He didn't hear that. It was his imagination.

Before he had anytime to decide what to do, his head swam with pain again. He couldn't control another scream from escaping, holding his head with both hands. It felt like the claws of a creature were tearing through his brain.

_'Don't fight it!'_ the voice threatened. _'It will only be worse for you!'_

Danny continued to scream, using all of his strength to fight off the voice. He slowly felt like he was losing control of his mind, and he couldn't stop it. The harder he fought, the more it pained him.

Suddenly, the pain stopped. He slowly lowered his hands from his head, his gaze on the ground. He took a small breath, and looked up, a smile on his face.

- - - - -

A gasp escaped Sam's lips involuntarily as she heard a loud scream. "Did you hear that!?" she asked Tucker, who ran next to her. She heard that scream too often, and knew all too well that it was Danny.

Tucker nodded. He couldn't mistake it either. "Let's go!"

Within seconds, they reached the park. They weren't sure where Danny was, so they looked into it. They could see him standing in it, about one hundred feet away, so they ran in.

When they were about halfway there, Sam called, "Danny!" She and Tucker glanced around for the Ectopuss, but didn't see it. They were confused to see Danny standing there after hearing him scream, and finding that the Ectopuss was nowhere in sight. Instead, they focused on getting to Danny.

"Hey man, are you ok!?" Tucker called. They finally came to a stop behind him. They took a second to catch their breath, before looking back at Danny. He was just standing with his back to them, not moving.

The two exchanged a quick look before Sam said, "Danny?" He just stood still as if he couldn't hear her.

"Hey, Danny!" Tucker called. No answer.

They exchanged another look. Something was going on. Sam looked back at Danny. Her heart started to beat faster, fearing that something was wrong. She lifted a hand. "Danny?" When she still didn't get a response, she was starting to panic. He was so still, acting as if he had no idea they were there. Not sure what else to do, she put her hand on his shoulder.

As soon as her hand made contact, Danny spun around. At the same time, he grabbed Sam's wrist and used his other hand to grab her leg, swiftly lifting her above his head.

"Ah!" Sam yelped. Her stomach jumped into her throat, and she was mortified. "Danny, what are you doing!?"

Without a word, Danny threw her toward a group of trees ten feet away. She hit one hard, scraping her arm against the rough bark, and hitting the ground on her side. She struggled to lift herself on her elbow, feeling dazed.

"Sam!" Tucker exclaimed. Before he could do anything, Danny used both hands to shoot a Plasma ray at him. It struck his stomach, sending him flying into the tree, hitting it with his back and landing next to Sam.

The two pulled themselves onto their hands and knees, wincing at their injuries. They looked up as they heard footsteps, finding Danny walking toward them, a look of pure hatred on his face.

But what scared them the most were his eyes. The part that would be green when he was in his ghost form was now a deep, menacing red.

The two friends were completely mortified. They didn't know what was going on, but Danny looked like he was going to kill them.

Tucker jumped onto his feet, ignoring his throbbing back. He reached down and pulled Sam up while exclaiming, "Run!"

Sam stumbled momentarily as she stood, but regained her footing and followed Tucker as he ran into the clump of trees behind them. As they ran, the crumpling of the leaves under their feet gave away their position. They could hear a failed attempt to hit them with a Plasma Ray, followed by the sound of rushing leaves as Danny followed them.

Their fear seemed to drive them to run faster, keeping well ahead of Danny. Their minds were flooded with shock, fear, and worry. What was going on?

They came to a sudden stop as they realized the clump of trees ended. If they ran back into the open, Danny would be able to find them easily.

"Hide!" Tucker said in a loud whisper. Sam didn't respond, but followed him as he positioned himself behind a large tree. They put their backs against it and tried to calm their loud breath.

After a few seconds, their breath caught as they heard footsteps through the leaves. It got closer, and they froze as Danny came into sight.

Sam watched Danny. He was a few feet away from their tree, and was scanning the area around him, searching for the two escapees.

Despite the fear Sam felt for herself, her fear for him clouded it. What happened to him? Why did he attack them? Her stomach hurt to the point where she thought she would be sick. She took a shuddering breath as tears wet her eyes. She wasn't the type to cry; she managed to show her emotions through different means. But she couldn't take this. She loved him too much to see him like this.

Danny's heavy breathing filled their ears. If they didn't know better, they would have said he was being suffocated. His burning red eyes and fierce frown looked momentarily in their direction, but he never caught sight of them. After looking around one more time, he seemed to give up on finding them and turned around. Sam and Tucker listened as he walked away, the leaves getting more and more quiet until they couldn't hear them anymore. They stayed frozen, their hearts almost audible to their ears, not sure of what they should do now.

They both jumped as they heard a sudden scream. It tore through the air, and made their blood curdle. They knew it was Danny.

After it faded, the two stayed still. They weren't sure if it was safe, but they wanted to make sure Danny was ok.

Sam decided that the latter was more important, and left the shelter of the tree. Tucker seemed to agree with her actions, and followed her.

They started hesitantly, but soon found themselves running until they reached the edge of the trees. Part of them told them to turn and run while they still had a chance, but their fear for Danny clouded it. They stayed in the shelter of the branches and peeked past the leaves. They could see Danny lying on his stomach, unconscious in his human form.

Seeing him made Sam forget about protecting herself, and wasted no time in running out to him. She knelt by him and took a shuddering breath. "Danny?"

Tucker came just after Sam, and knelt down on Danny's other side. He exchanged a look with Sam, then returned his attention to Danny.

Sam felt helpless. Her chest hurt, and she found it harder to mask the tears building in her eyes. "Danny?" It scared her to see him so still. She reached a hand out to touch him, just to see if he would respond. She hesitated, finding her hand shaking. She told herself that she had to make sure he was ok, and put it on his shoulder.

Just as she did, Danny stirred. She recoiled her hand, afraid of another attack. But it didn't come.

Danny opened his eyes. His head felt like a nail being pounded by a hammer. With a small breath, he slowly lifted himself onto his hands and knees. He suddenly felt hands on each of his shoulders, a voice sounding in the distance.

"Danny? Can you hear me?" He could make out Sam's voice. Despite his pounding head, and the fact that he had no idea what was going on, his heart broke as he heard her voice crack.

With an effort, and without looking up, he attempted to stand. He stumbled before he began, but felt the hands on his shoulders catch him and carefully lift him onto his feet.

He struggled to support his weight on his legs, although the hands held him in place. His head began to calm slightly, so he looked up.

He could now see his friends, each holding him up by one of his arms. Their faces were terrified, and looking at him with worry. Sam's eyes were filled with tears.

He looked back and forth at them. He took a breath and said, "What happened?"

Sam and Tucker exchanged shocked looks. They returned their attention to him. "You don't remember anything?" Tucker asked.

Danny paused. He looked at the ground as he thought about it. He remembered everything going black after he heard a voice in his head, then a strange feeling coming over his mind.

Danny's heart started to beat faster. He remembered feeling like he was being controlled, and all of his emotions being blocked. All he could feel was hatred. He remembered just standing there, until he felt something touch his shoulder. Without control, his body automatically spun around and attacked it. When he realized it was Sam, the hate in his mind surged stronger. After hearing Tucker's voice, the hatred grew, but not to the extreme that it had with Sam.

After that, his heart beat faster as he remembered what he did. He attacked them, his thoughts only on killing them. After they ran and he couldn't find them, he felt himself force through the control and make himself stop. The pain clouded his mind, and he woke up with Sam and Tucker next to him.

As the memories flooded him, he started to breath faster. He lifted his gaze and looked at his friends. He was overcome by pure shock and shame.

Unable to believe his own actions, he weakly shook Sam and Tucker's hands off his arms. He took a few small steps back, almost stumbling without his friends support.

"I…" he said, looking back at them. He shook his head at himself. "I… tried to kill you…"

The angst in Danny's tone finally forced one of Sam's tears to escape her eyes. She didn't know what was going on, and neither did he. She approached him and took a shaking breath. "Danny, we have to find out what happened-"

"No," Danny said, taking another step away from her. As he did, he stumbled over his feet as his legs trembled. Sam rushed over and caught him by the arm, catching him before he fell and holding him up.

Danny tried to fight her off, his chest hurting with shame. He wanted to get away from her, wanting to make sure he couldn't hurt her again. But he had so little energy that he gave up his fight to make her let him go.

"Danny, please," she said, keeping a firm but gentle grip on his arm. "Just tell us what happened."

Danny shook his head without looking at her. "I don't know what's going on." He didn't know why this was happening. He was too ashamed to look at her, so he tried to keep his gaze on her arm. But as he did, he saw a wide scrape on her forearm, a small drop of blood running down it.

He closed his eyes and looked away. He really did hurt them. If he hadn't regained control of his mind, he could have killed them.

When he didn't answer, Sam took one of her hands and put it on his cheek. She gently moved his face so it was looking at hers. Danny didn't want to look at her, but still met her gaze. Although his eyes were back to their sapphire blue, they were filled with enough pain to make another tear escape Sam's eyes.

"Danny," Sam said, managing to keep her voice calm, "We want to help you, but we can't until you tell us what happened."

Danny looked into her eyes. How could she want to be near him after what he did? Sure, he couldn't control it and it wasn't it fault, but why would she put herself in danger to help him? Because she was his friend?

He wanted to protest, saying that he couldn't control it, and he didn't know when it would take over again. He didn't want to put them in any danger. But the worry and fear he saw in her eyes stopped the words. He was worried about them, but she was right. He needed help.

Seeing no other option, Danny gave a small nod. He could see the relief in her eyes, somewhat making him feel better.

Carefully, Sam helped lower Danny into a sitting position. She sat next to him, giving him her full attention. Tucker had stayed quiet during the conversation, but sat down by them, ready to hear the explanation.

Danny kept his gaze away from them. After taking a breath and gathering his thoughts, Danny told them what happened. He mentioned the voice in his head, and how it took control of his mind, and hurt him the more he tried to fight it off. He told them how all he could feel was hatred, and his only thoughts were on killing them. Finally, how he was able to escape the control, but it wasn't easy, and it hurt more than he could explain.

When he was done, Danny looked at his friends. For most of the explanation, Danny kept his gaze away from them. But he could now see that Sam was silently panicking, unable to believe what was happening. Although she was hiding it pretty well, he could see it in her eyes. Tucker seemed to be frightened by the words, but his gaze was on the ground, seeming to be deep in thought.

Just then, Tucker looked up. His sudden movement caused the other two to look at him.

Tucker looked at his friends. "The dart."

Danny and Sam exchanged a look. "The dart?" Sam said.

Tucker quickly explained his thoughts. "This must be why Skulker just left. He wasn't trying to capture you; he used the dart to infect you with something."

Danny and Sam exchanged another look. That had to be it.

Although Danny saw his friend's point, he was still confused. He was hopeful that there was an answer, but it still didn't make sense. "But with what?" he asked. "What could put a voice in my head?"

Tucker stood up. "That's what we have to find out."

- - - - -

Well, there's the next chapter. The more reviews I get, the better, and the more it makes me want to write. Next one should be up soon.


	3. Chapter 3

Danny thought about his friend's theory. Although it seemed to be the only reasonable explanation, there was still little sense in it. But they had to check it out. If he was going to let them help him, they had to do it fast. If he lost control again… he didn't even want to think about what might happen.

With that in mind, he started to stand up. His body had gotten a fair amount of rest while he explained to Tucker and Sam what happened, but he still felt a great decrease in energy.

Sam seemed to catch his fatigue, and jumped onto her own feet. She then wrapped one of her arms around his chest by putting it under his shoulder, and used her other hand to hold his arm, carefully helping him onto his feet.

Danny felt his heart start to beat faster as her hands touched his shirt. It seemed like it didn't matter what was going on; her touch always calmed him, and made him nervous at the same time.

When he was firmly standing, Sam removed her arm from his chest, but kept her hand on his arm, giving a little support, just in case he needed it. Danny wanted to thank her, but his mouth remained shut. He just couldn't say anything to her, not with all the feelings rushing through his mind. He decided to focus on the matter at hand.

Tucker couldn't help but display a small smile at his two friends. Even though they had something important to do, he couldn't help but notice how easy it was for Sam to help Danny; how adorable they looked, standing in front of him, arm in arm.

Now focusing on the problem, he said, "Ok, I think our best bet right now is to check your parent's lab for something to identify the dart's liquid."

Danny looked up at his friend and nodded. He still couldn't make himself talk.

Sam glanced at Danny before saying, "But how will we get them to leave the lab? We can't just rush in there and start searching through their inventions."

Tucker folded his arms as he thought about it. It didn't take long for him to come up with an idea. "Let's tell them about the ghost at school."

"Hey, good idea," Sam agreed. The two friends looked at Danny, wanting to know if he agreed with it.

Danny was finally able to look them in the eyes. He let a small nod and said, "Ok."

Without a word to either of them, Danny changed to his ghost form. His friends looked shocked by it, not sure what he was thinking.

"Danny? What are you doing?" Sam asked.

Danny looked at her. "We need to get there fast. I can fly us."

Sam immediately shook her head. Danny looked at his arm as he felt Sam squeeze it tight. "No Danny. You're to weak for that."

He looked back into her eyes. She almost seemed to be begging him not to do it, thinking that he might injure himself. He glanced at Tucker. He seemed to be thinking the same thing.

"Guys," Danny started. He felt ashamed as he thought about the words he was about to say, even though he knew it wasn't his fault. "I don't know when I'll… lose control again. We have to do this fast or…" He couldn't finish his sentence, and looked away from them.

Sam and Tucker looked at each other. He was right.

Tucker walked forward and placed himself next to Danny. He gave Danny a small smile. Sam hesitated, then let go of his arm, deciding to let him fly them.

Danny felt a little relief at their actions. Without a word, he put an arm around each of their waists, then took off in flight, carrying the three of them out of the park.

They passed the school on their way to Danny's house. They saw that it was still under a ghost scare, seeing as there was no one in the area, and there were still a few belongings scattered on the lawn. At least it would be convincing to Danny's parents, and they would be determined to find it.

After a few short minutes, they reached Fenton Works. Danny landed in the alley between his house and the next building. When all of their feet were firmly on the ground, he went back to his human form and released his hold on his friends.

Danny didn't want his friends to know that the flight was somewhat tiring, but he let his back rest against the wall, welcoming the support. The two glanced at each other, seeming a bit worried, but at the same time expecting him to feel fatigued.

Tucker walked to the edge of the alley and peeked toward the front door. He turned around to face the other two and said, "Ok, let's make it convincing. We want them to leave as soon as we mention the ghost." Sam nodded in agreement.

The two looked at Danny. He pushed himself off the wall and gave them a small, reassuring smile. "Let's go." With that, they all headed for the front door.

Danny looked through the window on top of the door. He could see his parents sitting in the living room, seeming to be taking a break from their work and relaxing.

Danny turned his head and gave a small nod to his friends. They returned it, and Danny threw the door open.

"GHOST!" Tucker exclaimed.

Danny's parents jumped at the sudden sound, looking completely off guard. However, it was short lived as they heard the word.

Maddie jumped out of her seat, sending her coffee mug flying and shouted, "Ghost!?"

Jack jumped from his seat, managing to kick the coffee table out of the way. "Where!?" he demanded.

Sam threw a thumb over her shoulder and said, "At school!"

As soon as the words left her mouth, Maddie pulled her hood over her head, covering her eyes with her goggles. She reached behind the couch and pulled out an oversized ecto-gun, cocking it with both hands. She crouched, then leapt forward, managing to do a flip over a chair, landing in front of the open door. Without a word, she ran out the door.

"Hey, wait for me, sweetcakes!" Jack called, attempting to mimic his wife's stunt. He barely made it of the ground while jumping, resulting in landing on the chair that he attempted to jump over, completely smashing it.

At the sound of the crash, Maddie appeared back in the doorway. She tusked at her husband and rushed over. She violently pulled him up and said, "Move it, Jack! The ghost is getting away!" Seeming to forget the meaning of the word gentle, she dragged him out the open door, not bothering to close it as they left.

A silence followed the strange event. The three friends glanced at each other. They had seen that kind of incident before, but they couldn't help chuckling.

The laughter was short lived as they still hadn't forgotten their reasoning for what they just did. With that part done, they turned their attention to the door to the ghost lab, and rushed over.

Not knowing how much time they would have before his parents returned, Danny was able to feel a bit of a renewed vigor in his movements, wanting to try to find out as much as they could before they got caught.

After making their way down the stairs, the three looked around. The lab was pretty well organized, but they hardly knew what anything was. Danny knew most of them, but there were so many, he was sure there were some he didn't even know about.

"Ok, just start looking," Tucker said. The other two nodded, and they each went in separate directions to check all of the machines.

For a few minutes, the only sounds were that of small inventions clanging together as they were moved around on a table, or set aside as they searched on the floor. The three didn't say anything, making sure their main focus was finding something fast.

Danny started to get frustrated. There was nothing around that identified ghost plasma; the closest thing was the Booo-merang, which locked onto a ghost's ecto signature. Danny wasn't completely surprised; his parents mostly liked to invent new ghost weapons, seeming to be more interested in destroying a ghost than identifying it.

As he set a small ecto-gun down, Danny winced as he felt a sharp pain enter his mind. When it passed, he glanced behind himself at his friends. He was relieved as he saw that they hadn't noticed.

He looked back at the table in front of him. He could hear a small, inaudible whisper in his head, making his heartbeat accelerate.

_No,_ he thought. _Not again_.

His mind flashed quickly with his options; try his best to fight the voice, no matter how much it hurt. He was able to escape the control last time, so maybe he could prevent it this time. But it seemed too risky; he doubted he could resist it. He figured his best bet was to get as far away from Sam and Tucker as possible until he regained control of his mind.

Before he could decide, his spine tingled as he heard the voice re-enter his head.

_'Well, that was a nasty encounter last time.'_

Danny gulped. He was determined to keep it from gaining control of him again.

_Go away_, he told it in his mind. As soon as the thought faded, he felt a brief, but strong wave of pain. He couldn't help but let a small yell.

This got Sam and Tucker's attention. They turned their heads to see Danny standing with his back to them, both of his hands on his head. They looked at each other in disbelief and fear. It was happening again.

They both seemed to be thinking the same thing as they ran over to him. As they did, he bent over as he let a stronger yell, making them feel helpless as they realized he was losing the battle.

The two each grabbed one of his arms, lifting him back into a standing position, his hands coming off his head as he screamed, his eyes shut tight.

"No, Danny!" Sam exclaimed, holding his arm tightly, hoping that the restraint might help him. "Don't let it do this!

"Come on, man!" Tucker pleaded, squeezing Danny's other arm just as tight. "You can do it!"

Through the pain that assaulted his mind, Danny was aware of his friends' voices, begging him not to give in. He tried desperately to answer their pleas, fighting as hard as he could as he felt his control start to slip away.

_'You will do what I say!_' the voice demanded. _'Do NOT fight me!'_

With a final wave of agony, Danny again felt his mind control slip out of his grasp. His mind clouded with hatred, and he felt his body involuntarily change to ghost form.

As soon as the transformation took place, Danny opened his eyes. He met his friends' gazes, seeing their terrified expressions as they saw his crimson eyes stare back at them.

Before they could react, Danny thrust his arms forward, throwing his friends off and sending them each into an opposing wall. They both hit the walls with great force, sliding onto their sides and struggling to get back up. Their fear seemed to cloud the pain in their backs, making them only want to get away.

Danny's gaze first landed on Sam. She was trying to stand up, looking at him with complete fear. Without hesitation, he walked over to her, his heavy breath sounding in the air.

Just as Sam stood up, she found herself trapped against the wall as Danny closed the distance between them. He stood there, staring at her with his red eyes, breathing as if he couldn't.

For the brief moment that he stood there, Sam couldn't believe what she was seeing. Although it wasn't really Danny doing all of this, her heart felt like it would burst. She could see her sweet, happy friend, one that she loved with all of her heart, didn't look at all like himself. She never thought she'd see him look like all he wanted to do was kill.

Danny had just stopped in front of Sam. He stood still, staring at her, his mind filled with hate.

Just then, he heard the voice demand, _'Kill her!'_

As soon as he heard the words, Danny reached out his hands and wrapped them around Sam's throat. He squeezed them together, lifting her a few inches off the ground. A smile came to his lips as he saw her desperately try to pry his hands off, all the while her breath coming in short gasps as she failed miserably at trying to breathe.

Suddenly, he was caught completely off guard as he felt something slam into his side. The shock was enough to make him release his hold on Sam, sending her sliding to the floor, gasping loudly as she regained her breath.

Within the same second, Danny now found himself pinned against a wall, face to face with Tucker. His arms were being held against the wall by his wrists as Tucker tried to restrain him.

Tucker looked into his friend's eyes. His heart jumped as he saw the loathing in them. He built some courage and said, "Danny, snap out of it!"

Danny completely ignored the words. He built his Plasma Ray power in his hands, just before using the force to throw Tucker's hands off his wrists. It was enough to send Tucker into the opposite wall, hitting it hard before falling to the floor and laying still.

As Danny saw his friend lay motionless, he couldn't take it anymore. He could feel a small bit of his own mind, and pushed his thoughts toward it, trying his best to escape the control.

Sam sat with her back against the wall, now able to breathe normally. Her heart raced at the sudden shock, along with the fear that still remained with what Danny might do now.

After seeing Danny attack Tucker, she could now see Danny with his hands on his head. Just after, she cringed as he screamed loudly again, this time falling to his knees. All the while, the scream grew, making Sam close her eyes, wishing desperately in her mind for it to stop.

Finally, it did. Danny was on the floor on his hands and knees, heaving for breath. His head felt like it was being pounded, and he couldn't take it.

He stayed where he was for a few seconds, the pain finally beginning to fade. It didn't go away, but only numbed a bit, just enough for him to think.

Finally, he started to stand. It took a lot of effort, as his body felt like it had been thrashed against a wall multiple times. When he was on his feet, he continued to breathe quickly, trying to calm himself. He had finally regained control of his mind.

He forced his eyes to open. He could see Tucker lying on the floor in front of him. His heart reached his throat as his first thought was that he was dead. But he was able to make out the rise and fall of his chest, realizing that he was alive.

Danny froze. He remembered what he did to Sam. Was she ok?

With hesitation, Danny turned around. He saw Sam now standing on her feet, backed against a wall and looking at him with a look that broke his heart. She was completely terrified.

Danny turned his head away, finding it difficult to look her in the eyes. He did it again. He almost killed them. His chest hurt as he felt completely helpless, hot tears beginning to fill his eyes.

His breath coming in steady gasps, Danny looked at his hands. His mind flashed back to when they were around Sam's throat; how the voice in his head had made him do it, and made his mind enjoy it. He had been to weak to stop it from taking over, and he almost did something that he would never be able to live with.

Tearing his eyes away from his hands, and without looking at Sam, he started walking over to the Ghost Portal. The movement sent pain through his body with each step. He made a small wince; it was worse than the first time he had regained control.

When he reached the portal, he stopped by the open switch. He lifted a shaky hand and pressed the button, making the door open, revealing the swirling green opening to the Ghost Zone.

He just wanted to get away. He now knew that he had no control over this voice; he was able to regain control both times, but he saw how close he had come to killing his friends in such a short time. He wasn't sure when it would take over again, and he didn't know if he would regain control again. He realized that getting the control back this time had left his body more fatigued than the first time; he didn't know if he could do it again.

Despite his decision, and the shame he felt in looking at her, Danny couldn't help but look at her one more time. He slowly turned his head. He could see her now standing away from the wall, a few feet closer to him, a single tear on her cheek. How could she be getting any closer to him than she already was?

But what surprised him the most was her next action. He hadn't told her what he was going to do, but he could see her head shaking, her mouth softly forming the word 'No.'

Danny couldn't take it anymore. He turned his head away from her, setting his gaze on the floor in front of him.

"I'm sorry, Sam," he said, his voice cracking. She didn't want him to leave, but he had to. He had no choice; if he stayed, the chances of killing them were too high.

He wasn't sure what he would do in the Ghost Zone, but he knew he wasn't coming back. The thought made him realize that he would never see Sam again. It made his chest hurt, and one of the hot tears in his eyes rolled down his cheek.

Just before he went in, he decided to take his last chance to say it to her. It might not be what she wanted to hear in a situation like this, but he had to say it. She should know, since she would never see him again.

He took a shaky breath. Without looking back at her, he said softly, but loud enough for her to hear, "…I love you."

As soon as the words left his mouth, he couldn't stay anymore. Within a second, he took flight and disappeared into the Ghost Zone.


	4. Chapter 4

Sam remained where she stood, feeling like she was frozen in place. She stared at the Ghost Portal, where Danny had disappeared. His last words before entering echoed in her mind, making a small sob escape her lips, along with a few more tears escaping her eyes.

Finally, Sam let her gaze fall to the floor in front of her. She tried to take calming breaths to slow her fast heartbeat, but to no avail. She closed her eyes and tried to focus her mind. So many things had happened so fast that she wasn't sure what to do. Danny hadn't told her why he left, but she knew it was to protect them. She knew he wasn't coming back; if it came to it, she knew he would let himself die in the Ghost Zone.

Taking a deep breath, she let his words play in her head again. She was overjoyed to hear them, but the circumstances left her feeling terrible. He had felt that way about her, but never told her; she had never told him, and now she never could.

With that thought, Sam lifted her gaze and looked at the Ghost Portal. That's right, he loved her, and she loved him. She didn't care what it took; she would help him. She refused to give up until a solution was found; she had to find him.

Now decided, Sam looked around the lab. She wasn't sure where to start, but she had to find a fast and safe way to follow him. As she looked, her eyes fell onto Tucker, who still lay on the floor by the opposite wall.

Seeing him, she rushed over and knelt down. He was lying on his side with his back to her, and she feared he wasn't alive. But she was relieved as she saw his chest rise and fall, signifying his breathing.

Sam put both of her hands on his shoulder and gently shook him. She tried to call his name, but her emotions seemed to block her voice. She shook him again, and he didn't respond.

He wouldn't wake, but he was alive. Sam stood back up, now knowing she would have to find Danny by herself. With one more look at her friend, Sam turned around and looked at the lab.

As she did, she finally thought of what would get her through the Ghost Zone. She looked at the opposite wall, and found a large button on it that read 'Garage.'

Sam ran over to it, knowing that inside was the Spectre Speeder. Danny had told she and Tucker about it, saying that his parents built it to save room in the lab.

As soon as Sam reached the door, she pressed the button, watching as the red light came on, along with a small beeping sound. After a short rumble, the garage door opened swiftly, revealing the large white ship.

Sam rushed inside and opened the driver's door. She threw herself into the seat, shutting the door and fastening her seatbelt. Being accustomed to using the machine, she pressed a few buttons and turned a key, listening as it started up. She then put her hands on the wheel, stepped on the gas, and moved it out of the garage. As soon as it was positioned in front of the portal, she put on full speed and entered the Ghost Zone.

- - - - -

Danny's head felt like lead as he flew through the Ghost Zone. His vision began to blur, and he could barely keep himself awake.

Because of his fatigue, he didn't know how long he was flying. The only thing on his mind was getting as far away from the portal as possible. He wanted to make sure that he wouldn't be able to reach it if the voice took control again.

Suddenly, Danny's eyes began to droop. He felt a great decrease in energy, and his vision was almost completely blurred. He knew that the second time he regained control of his mind left him even more tired than it had the first time, but it seemed to be consuming him now.

Almost without his permission, he could feel his body begin to descend. His vision was now black, and he couldn't see anything in front of him. A few seconds later, he felt his chest come in contact with the ground, making him do a flip, and land on his back with a thud.

Danny groaned as his body made contact with the ghost grass. He remained where he was, now feeling no energy to move, or even open his eyes. He was barely aware as his body changed to his human form.

He just lay there, not able to move as his body felt like the life had been sucked out of him. He tried to move his hand, but it ignored his command. He took a small breath, and found enough strength to open his eyes.

His vision was blurred, but he blinked to clear it. It took a couple of tries, but he was now able to see the ghost sky above him. The dark swirls in it were anything but friendly, and didn't make him feel better at all. Instead of trying to look around at the area he was in, he closed his eyes. He at least knew that he was on the ground, able to feel the grass underneath him.

He didn't feel any more inclination to fight. He wouldn't be able to resist the voice in his state, even if he tried. He hoped that he was far enough from the portal that he wouldn't make it back while he was being controlled, and that Sam would accept that he wouldn't come back, and close the door so he couldn't get in.

Sam… He had to remind himself of her. He could still see the look on her face when she realized that he was leaving. He couldn't believe how much she appeared to be against it. It didn't matter that he couldn't control this, and that he was her fiend; how could she want him to stay, when he was almost successful in killing her?

Well, he would never know now. He let his mind start to slip out of consciousness, not caring what happened to him. If he died here, that would be fine. His friends would be safe, and the voice would stop.

With Sam's face still in his mind, Danny let himself be carried off to sleep, not knowing, or caring, if he would ever wake.

- - - - -

Sam's eyes scanned the area as she drove deeper into the Ghost Zone. She wasn't sure how far Danny would be able to get within the time he had been gone, but she would find him.

She started to feel panicky as she couldn't find any sign of him. All she could see were the seemingly never-ending routes on each side of the ship, dotted with an occasional portal to another part of the Zone.

As she passed one, Sam shook her head at herself. What if he went in one of the portals? She didn't think she'd have enough time to look in them all; he might be too far away to find, or… no. She wouldn't accept that he might die.

Sam berated herself inwardly as she realized that she should have brought the Booo-merang. She could have easily found him if she locked onto his ecto-signature and followed it. She considered going back for it, thinking that it would be faster than searching all over the place.

Just then, Sam realized that she wasn't paying attention to where she was going, as she was thinking too much. She looked up in time to see a large boulder in her path, but too late to maneuver out of the way.

Letting a small yell escape her mouth, she instinctively put her hands in front of her face for protection. As soon as she did, her body thrashed in her seat as the ship's side made a violent contact with the boulder. The collision sent the ship rolling over the boulder, then crashing into the ground seconds later. Despite her seatbelt, Sam was thrown around in her seat as it rolled again, letting the Zone know of its crash with the loud screeches.

Finally, after what felt like minutes, the ship came to a stop on its belly. Sam remained in her seat, her breaths coming in great gasps as her heart beat quickly at the shock.

Finally, she found enough courage to open her eyes. She slowly lowered her hands away from her face, her eyes greeted by the shattered windshield.

After slowing her breathing, Sam undid her seatbelt. She reached for the door's handle, and was glad as it opened as she turned it. She stepped out of the ship, putting both of her feet on the ground. She was surprised to feel no injuries, realizing that her seatbelt had kept her safely in her seat.

Just then, she jumped as she heard a mechanical sound. Her head jerked toward the ship as multiple, tiny mechanical arms came out different parts on the outside, then proceed in making repairs all around.

Sam watched it for a moment, watching as it moved a piece of metal back into place, then turned her head to see where she was. It looked like an open field, floating solo in the endless air.

As her eyes scanned the ground, they stopped on something that lay about one hundred feet away. She squinted her eyes, and her heart jumped as she identified it.

"Danny!" she exclaimed, finding her voice for the first time since he left. Without hesitation, she ran toward him, hoping that he was alive.

When she reached him, she practically fell onto her knees, now finding herself taking deep breaths as tears came to her eyes. She studied his face and found his eyes closed.

"Danny!?" she said, a crack entering her voice. He didn't respond, and she feared he was dead.

She looked at his chest, hoping to see him breathing. She could see that he was, but the movement was so small, she had to look a little longer before she knew she was really seeing it.

Feeling a tear fall down her cheek, Sam took one of his hands in both of her own. It still felt warm, but there was no response as she squeezed it.

Sam lowered her gaze to the ground and closed her eyes. What was she going to do? She couldn't go anywhere until the Spectre Speeder finished repairing itself, but even then, where would she go? She didn't know how to help him, and they hadn't been able to find anything to identify the liquid in the dart.

Sam didn't care as she let her tears wet the ghostly ground. A sob escaped her lips, but she didn't hear it. She felt completely helpless; he was dying, and she couldn't help him.

Sam lifted her head and opened her eyes. Her gaze met Danny's face, completely motionless, and unaware of her presence. She used one of her hands to briefly wipe her eyes before taking his hand in it. She couldn't leave him here, no matter what happened. Despite the fact that she was watching him like this, she was glad that she was there.

Sam could now feel her sobs start to exhaust her. Knowing that she would stay with him, she lowered herself to lie next to him, keeping his hand in one of hers, and putting the other on his chest. She kept her gaze on his face, although it was tilted the other way.

With a final sob, Sam let his face be the last thing she saw before she closed her eyes.

- - - - -

Tucker opened his eyes, being greeted by a throb in his head. He put a hand on it, making a small wince as it pounded with his heartbeat.

After giving himself enough time to calm his mind, he started to stand up. His head cleared as he did, although there was a dull pain in it. He shook it slightly, trying to get rid of the discomfort.

When he felt a bit better, his mind finally remembered what had happened. The last thing he remembered was stopping Danny from killing Sam, then being thrown against the wall, and everything went black.

He looked around. He was surprised to see that no one was there. When his eyes stopped on the Ghost Portal, he was surprised to see it open. He blinked, puzzled, then followed the wall until his eyes landed on the open garage door.

_Huh?_ he thought, unsure of what happened while he was unconscious. He knew that the garage was for the Spectre Speeder, but who took it? Sam or Danny? Why was the portal open in the first place?

He froze as another thought entered his mind. Did Danny regain control of his mind, or was he still being controlled? Was Sam ok, or was she in the Ghost Zone, possibly being chased by him?

Try as he might, he couldn't figure it out. He was worried about both of them, but he wasn't sure what he could do. Instead, he walked over to the garage, walking inside and hoping to find some kind of evidence of who took it and why.

As he entered, he found it mostly empty. He didn't see any evidence that would tell him who took the Spectre Speeder, but he turned his head and kept looking.

Just as he did, something in the back left corner of the room caught his eye. There was a small pile of what looked like machines and weapons.

Remembering that they had been looking for something to identify the liquid inside Skulker's dart, Tucker rushed over to the pile. He knelt down and started rummaging through it, hoping to find something.

After pushing away a few ecto-guns that appeared to be broken, he found a machine about the size of a toaster sitting in front of him. He pulled it toward him, and looked at it. The label on the top read 'Plasma Identifier.'

Tucker's heart jumped. This had to be what could help them. Without hesitation, he pulled his backpack off his back and unzipped the front pocket. He carefully reached in and pulled out the dart.

Pushing his bag aside, Tucker held the dart in one hand while trying to see how to turn on the machine. He suddenly felt disheartened as he thought it might be in here because it didn't work. But he still had to try. After finding the on button, he braced himself. After a second, he pressed it.

As he heard a small beeping sound, and saw the button light up, he let a sigh. It worked, but he didn't let himself get too excited. It might not identify the dart.

He watched as a small, clear glass plate slid out of the front of the machine of its own accord. A small display screen on top read the words, 'Place Sample.'

Tucker quickly unscrewed the lid off the dart, then carefully let the liquid drip onto the glass. As it made contact, the glass pulled itself back in the machine. The display screen read 'Processing…' along with a few small beeping sounds. Tucker screwed the lid back on the dart, and set it aside. As he waited impatiently for the results, his mind started flashing with possibilities of what might happen. What if it said it couldn't identify it? Even if it did, he didn't know where Danny was, so how could he tell him? He tried to push the thoughts away as he realized his stomach was starting to feel nauseous with anxiety.

After a few seconds, the display screen cleared, then showed the words, 'Micro-Ghost.'

Tucker stared at the words. _Micro-Ghost?_ _It was a Ghost? _

Wasting no more time, Tucker quickly pulled his PDA out of his pocket and started looking up information. It only took him a few seconds to find information on it. There was no picture, but he quickly read the description.

Micro-Ghost. A rare, microscopic ghost that is used to control other ghosts. They are injected in its bloodstream, and proceed to take over its mind, having the victim do what it tells it. It is a nasty specimen, as it searches the mind for emotions and uses them against its victim, making it attack and kill any that it shows love for. The more love is shown for the target, the more dangerous it is. It ensures its orders will be carried out by inflicting pain if it is resisted. It takes a great toll on the victim's body, and eventually takes all of their energy until they have none.

As Tucker read the description, he found his breath become shorter. It was terrible, and it was how Danny had explained it. He now knew that it was definitely a Micro-Ghost that was inside Danny. And it was killing him.

When Tucker realized that the information had ended, he started to panic. There was nothing that told how to stop it. Did that mean it couldn't be stopped? After all this, there was nothing they could do?

No. He wouldn't accept that. There had to be something, there had to. He shut the PDA off and put it back in his pocket, trying to think of what he could do now.

After standing up and turning around, Tucker saw something on the opposite wall. It was a phone. He wasn't sure if it would help, but he walked over to it. As he did, he found it labeled, 'Spectre Speeder Line.'

As soon as he read the words, he picked up the receiver. He wasn't sure who was in the ship, but he had information that could help Danny.

- - - - -

Sam hadn't realized that she had dozed off until she heard a small beeping sound. It brought her back to consciousness, making her tired eyes squint.

As she started to feel more awake, she was aware of the feel of Danny's hand in her own, along with her other hand draped across his chest. It took her mind a second longer to remember why she was in that position.

As she remembered, she quickly lifted her head up. Her hands involuntarily squeezed tight, making her hold Danny's hand tighter, along with gripping his shirt. Her eyes fell onto his face. As they did, her heart felt like it fell in her chest. His eyes were still closed, and he looked like he hadn't moved at all. As her hand made small squeezes on his own, she noticed that it felt cold. The only thing that lifted her hope was the very weak, but sure feeling of her arm being lifted up and down as he continued to breathe.

She suddenly realized that the beeping sound had repeated itself a few times during the last few seconds. She followed the sound with her eyes, and they stopped on the Specter Speeder. She could see the mechanical arms still making repairs, at the same time realizing that the sound was coming from the ship.

She wasn't sure what it was, but figured she better go check. It might need her to press a button for the repairs or something. She looked at Danny's face, then hesitated in removing her hands from him. When they were, she pulled herself onto her feet. She had to tear her eyes away from him before heading over to the ship.

When she reached it, she looked through the still open driver's door. Her eyes soon landed on a small flashing light, which was on a phone receiver under a glass case.

Sam froze as she realized it was the phone. She wasn't sure who it was, but quickly decided she didn't care. Even if it was Danny's parents, it didn't matter. He needed help.

Without any more hesitation, Sam crawled onto the seat and opened the glass case. She momentarily read the label, which read 'Fenton Lab Line.' At least knowing that it was someone from the lab, she picked up the receiver.

"Hello?" She was surprised as she heard her voice sound tired.

"Sam?"

"Tucker?" Sam asked, feeling a renewed vigor in her voice. "Is that you?"

"Yeah. What's going on? Where are you?" His voice sounded frantic, and almost impatient to hear the answers. He wanted to tell Sam about the information he got, but he had to know what was going on with them before he could.

Sam took a second to collect her thoughts. She decided which pieces of information were important, and which ones would just waste too much time in telling. "Danny got his mind control back and took off into the Ghost Zone. I took the Spectre Speeder and followed him."

"Well, did you find him?" He asked the question quickly, wanting the answer fast.

"…Yeah." Sam found herself saying it quietly.

Tucker paused. Not sure if he wanted an answer, he asked, "… Is he ok?"

Sam let a silence follow. She didn't know how to answer, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to hear herself say he wasn't.

"I don't know…" she said, feeling hot tears enter her eyes. "When I found him, he was unconscious. He hasn't woken up since I got here, and he looks worse now."

Tucker felt his heart beat accelerate at the words. He tried to calm himself as he reminded himself that he had information that might help.

"… I know what's wrong with him."

Sam's eyes shot open. "What!? What is it!? What do we do!?"

Tucker waited until her questions stopped before answering. He decided that how he found out would waste what little time they had, and said, "The dart had a Micro-Ghost in it." Without letting Sam question him, he said, "It was injected in his bloodstream with the dart Skulker used, and it controls ghost's minds by searching their emotions for love. When they find who the love is directed at, they take control of the ghost and make them attack. If the ghost resists control, they hurt them until they do what it says. And…" He hesitated. "…It's gonna use up all of his energy until he's dead."

The words were all but comforting as Sam heard them. They knew that it was something that controlled Danny and hurt him when he tried to resist it, but they didn't know it would kill him. The thought of it making him attack the people he loved made her sick. Her hand clenched as she felt angry and helpless.

Finally, she brought herself back to the conversation. She asked the question that she was waiting to be answered. "How do we stop it?" She wasn't comforted as a silence followed.

"…It didn't say."

Sam felt her hope slip away. That was it; they had no idea how to stop this, and Danny would die because of it. They couldn't do anything. The thought made her feel helpless, a tear falling down her cheek.

Sam was barely aware as she heard a small mechanical sound, signifying that the Spectre Speeder's mechanical arms had finished repairing the ship, and disappeared back into their compartments. She could leave now, but what was she going to do? Just bring Danny with her, then just let him die? There had to be something she could do. She wouldn't give up.

Suddenly, the idea came to her. She knew who had caused all of this, who had wanted this to happen. If he didn't have the answer, no one did. She would find him, and make him tell her how to help Danny.

Breaking the silence that followed the conversation, Sam said, "I'm gonna go help Danny."

Tucker was confused. "How?"

"…I'm gonna find Skulker and make him tell me how to stop this."

"What!? Wait-" She didn't give him time to argue as she hung up. She knew he'd try to call back, so she lifted the receiver, then set it next to the phone before shutting the glass case.

Jumping back out of the ship, Sam felt a new energy enter her body. She had to act fast, knowing that Skulker could be anywhere, and she didn't know how much time Danny had.

She knew she couldn't leave him here, so she ran back to him. She knelt down and took one of his hands almost automatically, checking him for signs of movement. She felt a small bit of relief as she could still see small movements from his breathing.

She knew she'd have to carry him back to the ship. She was about to pull his arm over her shoulder when she felt his hand twitch. Within the same second, her heart jumped as she saw his eyes open a crack.

"Danny!?" Sam asked frantically, taking his hand with both of hers, unable to control her voice from sounding desperate. "Danny!?"

Danny's head throbbed. Every part of his body was sore, and he couldn't make himself move. Through it, he could hear a voice saying his name. Despite his half awake state, he knew who it was.

"Sam?" he said quietly, keeping his eyes mostly closed.

A relieved sob escaped Sam's lips and she squeezed his hand tight. "Yeah, it's me!"

Danny couldn't believe what he was hearing. Sam was here? Why? He forced his eyes to open more, finding everything in his vision blurred. He could make out something next to him, so he turned his head toward it, blinking so he could see. It cleared enough for him to see Sam, looking down at him with a smile, her face wet with tears.

Danny wasn't sure how to feel seeing her. He was angry that she put herself in danger by following him, but he felt very comforted that she was there. He could feel his heart lift slightly, as it always did when he saw her.

Despite the many feelings and thoughts he had, he asked quietly, as his voice wouldn't let him talk louder, "What are you doing here?"

Sam looked into his blue eyes, feeling hope return at seeing them again. "…I'm here to help you."

He wasn't sure how to respond to the answer. How was she going to help him? But despite it, he felt better, knowing that she was with him.

Deciding not to let him argue, Sam put her arm under his back. She wrapped her other hand around his arm and started pulling him up. She felt a pang of guilt as she heard him make a small groan. She knew it would hurt him, but she had to get him to the ship.

After getting him into a sitting position, Sam used her arm to pull him onto his feet, then swiftly put his arm over her shoulder, allowing him to put his weight on her. She kept her arm around his waist, and used her other hand to hold his arm in place over her shoulder.

Now with him on his feet, Sam took a stop forward. Danny was able to command his legs to move forward, but almost all of his weight was supported on Sam.

After about a minute, they finally made it to the ship. Sam made her way to the passenger's seat, then used one of her hands to open the door. She then led Danny over to it, and helped him sit in the seat. His back immediately leaned against it, seeming to have no more energy to move. Sam reached over and fastened his seatbelt, then got out and shut the door. She then quickly made her way to the driver's side, opening the door and getting in the seat before shutting the door.

She fastened her seatbelt, then looked over at Danny. She could tell he was still awake, but he looked like he was in a lot of pain. His head rested against the seat, and his breathing looked labored.

Without another second's hesitation, Sam started the engine. She wasn't sure where Skulker was, but would start by heading to his lair. As soon as the ship was ready, she stepped on the gas and flew toward her destination.


	5. Chapter 5

Sam drove the Spectre Speeder at a fast speed, her only thoughts on finding Skulker, and making him tell her how to help Danny. She wasn't sure what she was going to do, as she knew Skulker wouldn't want to tell. But there was nothing else she could do; it was the only thing that might save Danny.

As she rounded a corner, she looked over at her friend, who sat in the passenger seat. His cheek was resting against the back of the seat, his eyes closed. Sam's stomach felt sick as she saw his face make small winces, knowing that he was in pain. It made her feel helpless, knowing that she couldn't help him feel better. She looked back at the path ahead of her, more determined to help him, no matter what.

Just as she did, her heart jumped; a few hundred feet ahead, she could see Skulker flying around, seeming to be looking around for something.

As soon as she saw him, her chest filled with anger. He was the one who did this to Danny, and she was going to make him pay.

Without any more hesitation, she searched the controls in front of her. She would have to fight him if she was going to make him talk. Her eyes caught sight of a button that read 'Ecto-Lasers.' She pressed it, watching the red button light up, along with hearing guns unsheathe themselves on top of the ship.

- - - - -

Skulker's head jerked to the side as he heard a loud mechanical sound. He had been looking around for some kind of small prey, just for fun, but could now see a ship coming toward him. As it neared, he could see guns come out of the top and point at him.

It took a few more seconds for him to recognize what it was. _The ghost boy's ship,_ he remembered, as he had seen it before. He looked through its windshield to see who was in it, feeling no fear at the sight of the ship. He finally recognized the ghost boy in one seat, and his 'girlfriend' in the other.

The sight puzzled him slightly. _They should be dead by now,_ he thought, knowing that the Micro-Ghost should have taken control of the ghost boy and disposed of his friends.

Despite his wondering, he wasn't worried. He faced the ship and floated in place, folding his arms and smiling confidently. He would just have to help the ghost along.

- - - - -

Sam couldn't wait any longer. She was slightly puzzled at why Skulker was just floating, acting as if nothing was wrong, but her anger wouldn't let her care. She pressed the button on the wheel, and watched as three beams came from the guns, making their way to Skulker.

The ghost was ready for the attack, and easily dodged it with a small spiral. As soon as the rays passed, he unsheathed a gun from his right forearm and fired at the ship. Sam managed to maneuver it out of the way, letting the attack pass by it.

Skulker didn't seem disheartened by the miss. Instead, he brought himself a few feet higher in the air, then readied another gun from his left arm. He then pointed them both at the ship, and started firing at the opposing weapons.

Sam now realized just how close to Skulker she was. The shot she fired at him had missed, but she was waiting for an opportunity to try again. But as she neared him, she had half a mind to just hit him head on with the ship, considering that he wasn't moving, and her anger was clouding her better judgment.

But before she could decide, Skulker ascended, then started firing two guns at her. She was too close to react, and the blasts managed to destroy all three of the Spectre Speeder's weapons.

As soon as he saw the guns explode, Skulker turned around and, with a great burst from his rocket, took off. Sam didn't hesitate in following him. Her rage built as she saw the weapons destroyed, and searched the controls frantically for another gun.

As Skulker flew off, Sam managed to find another button that read 'Main Cannon.' She momentarily wished she had seen that button first, but quickly forgot about the thought as she pressed the button. She heard a mechanical door open ahead of her, and saw a large gun point out of the front of the ship.

Skulker finally came to a stop over a small piece of ghostly land. He floated above it and faced the oncoming ship, feeling invigorated as he enjoyed this game. He waited patiently for it to get near enough for another attack.

Sam checked the steering wheel for the other fire button, and managed to find it on the other side of it. She prepared to fire, then checked ahead of her. She could now see that Skulker stopped flying, and was floating in place, looking like he was waiting for them. The sight of him just floating there, with that stupid smile that meant he thought he was winning made Sam's anger peak. Without hesitation, she pressed the fire button.

But Skulker was too fast. Just as he flew up, avoiding the large blast completely, he prepared an oversized gun that came out of his back, and fired at the cannon.

Sam's eyes widened as she saw the attack coming. She had no time to react, so her eyes involuntarily closed. Just as they did, she felt the ship make a great surge as the shot made contact with the cannon on the front end of the ship.

The blast blew the cannon into pieces, along with causing the ship to do a front flip at the great force. Sam's stomach jolted as she could feel the flip behind her closed eyes, and didn't see as it managed to position itself upright before coming in violent contact with the ground, throwing her in her seat as the ship skidded onto its belly.

When she felt the ship stop moving, Sam opened her eyes, finding herself taking deep breaths. After a brief glance at the ground in front of the ship, her stomach jolted as she thought of Danny. Her head shot to the side to look at him, finding him slumped toward her, as he obviously hadn't been able to stop himself from being thrashed in his seat.

With her stomach in her throat, Sam reached her hands over and pushed his shoulder, putting him back in a sitting position. As his head leaned against the back of his seat, she felt a great wave of relief as she saw him take a few deep breaths. Danny was aware of the feel of her hands, but he couldn't open his eyes to look at her, finding no energy to do it.

Sam's heart felt like it would erupt from her chest. That scared her too much. Her hands felt like they were glued to his shoulder as she watched his face make small winces of pain. She just wanted to help him; she wanted it to stop.

That's right; she was here to stop it. She removed her hands from his shoulder and looked out the front of the ship. Where was Skulker? Was he waiting for them to come out so he could attack, or did he escape?

Even though she didn't have any weapons or means of protecting herself, Sam undid her seatbelt and opened the door. After stepping out of the ship, she looked up into the ghost sky. She couldn't find any sign of the mechanical ghost, although she was slightly aware of the sound of the mechanical arms coming out of the ship to repair it.

As she turned her head to look, she started to panic. Where was he? If he got away, she doubted there was anything she could do now. The ship had to repair itself before she could go, and Danny's energy was disappearing by the second.

With that thought, she turned her head to look back in the ship at Danny. As her gaze fell on him, she froze; he was completely motionless, no signs of even breath visible.

Before Sam could react to the sight, she heard a loud rocket above her. Her head shot up just in time to see Skulker fly past, toward an area in front of the ship. He flew a few hundred yards away, and landed on the ghostly grass, folding his arms and looking at her with that smile.

As she watched him stand there, Sam's anger rose until she felt it bubbling in her chest. How could he have done this? What right did he have to kill Danny? Her emotions mixed with grief, helplessness, and rage.

Feeling hot tears running down her cheeks, Sam took off full speed toward the ghost. Her mind was too clouded to know what she was doing; all she knew was that she couldn't believe or accept that she had just seen Danny die, and her only thoughts were focused on reaching Skulker and making him pay. Her anger clouded the fact that she had no means of fighting; no weapons and nothing to protect her. But she didn't care. All she wanted was to see Skulker pay for what he did.

When she was a hundred feet away from him, she was stopped in her tracks as a plasma ray from one of Skulker's guns came in contact with the ground right in front of her feet. She almost stumbled forward as she came to a halt, but managed to keep herself on her feet. She looked up at Skulker, seeing him with a gun pointing at her, a look of pure enjoyment on his face.

"Don't move, or you'll end up like the ghost boy," Skulker said.

Sam closed her eyes and silently boiled. She took heaving breaths as sobs and tears continued to assault her. It was just too much; her anger wanted her to advance on Skulker, even if he killed her, but her grief just kept her in place, only wanting her to release her emotions with the feelings she had about what happened to Danny.

Keeping her eyes closed, she was able to hear Skulker say in a menacing tone, "But you'll end up like him soon, anyway."

Sam finally opened her eyes and looked at him. She didn't know what to do; she couldn't handle how she felt right now. She hated Skulker, she wanted him to suffer, but what could she do? If she tried to fight him, he would kill her.

Kill her? Well, that actually sounded ok right now.

Before anything, she forced her cracking voice to form the word, "Why?" She was sickened as Skulker pretended to look confused, saying, "What do you mean?"

Sam's hands clenched into tight fists, and her legs started to shake. "Why did you do this to Danny?" she asked, doing nothing to stop the venom from entering her voice. She doubted she would want to hear his sick excuse, but she still didn't know what to do. She couldn't help Danny anymore, so she at least wanted to know why Skulker did this.

The mock confusion left Skulker's face, and was replaced with that smile. "I thought you'd never ask.

The smile was short lived as his mechanical face formed a frown, now looking more angered than ever. His words were forceful, and full of loathing. "You see, you, the ghost boy, and your other little friend have caused me much grief." Sam could see him taking deeper breaths as his anger started to build. "So, I set out to find the perfect revenge. But not just any revenge; I wanted the ghost boy to suffer."

As he continued, a sickening passion started to enter his voice. He sounded as if he couldn't be happier in telling someone about his plan of revenge.

His eyes seemed unfocused as he talked. It was as if he forgot that he was talking to Sam, and just wanted to recite his plan. "I found information on a Micro-Ghost. It took me a long time to find it; they are very rare, you see. I believe that the one in the ghost boy may be the last. It was perfect; it would drive him to destroy his friends, and then kill him in the end." His gaze finally refocused on Sam. "The best hunters attack the heart. That's why I wanted him to kill the ones he loved, then let himself be destroyed."

He kept looking at Sam, but seemed to be silently trying to figure something out. "I knew the ghost boy would be too weak to fight it. But… it seems that I made a small mistake in his strength."

After the explanation, the passion left Skulker's voice. He now just looked at Sam and used his usual, mocking tone. "But although he did not destroy you, the Micro-Ghost destroyed him. As for you…" He let his arm fall to the side, and readied a large gun from his back.

"I'll just have to do what it couldn't."

- - - - -

Danny's eyes cracked open. He couldn't believe how much his body hurt; his head pulsed with his heartbeat, and his limbs felt like lead.

He had been aware of Sam's hands on his shoulder moments before, but he had passed out and didn't know where she was now. He forced his eyes to open all the way, then focused them by blinking them a few times. He took small breaths as he looked out to the front of the ship.

Despite his pain, his heart jumped as he saw Sam standing in the ghost field, along with Skulker standing a ways ahead of her, with a gun pointed at her.

_No…_ Danny thought. Why was she doing this? Did she want to get herself killed?

His fear and worry seemed to give him enough renewed vigor to undo his seatbelt. He lifted a shaky hand and opened the passenger door, then proceeded to step out of the ship.

After putting his second foot on the ground, Danny's legs trembled, and he almost collapsed. He managed to keep himself upright by forcing his shaking hands to hold the door tight. His head became fuzzy as he stood. He blinked to make it stop, and focused on trying to think of how to help Sam.

But what could he do? He had no energy, and even if he did attack Skulker, he would easily be beaten, and then what would happen to Sam?

But he had to do something. Not knowing what else to do, he released the door with his right hand, and lifted it up, finding it shaking. He tried to fire a plasma ray in Skulker's direction, but nothing came. He tried again, but his lack of energy wouldn't let him do anything.

Frustrated with failure, he let his hand fall to the side. Through the pain in his body, and the fear that continued to rise in his chest, he tried to think of what to do. He had to do something.

Just then, he was aware of a strange sound coming from the ship. He lifted his head to look up, and was just in time to see mechanical arms re-enter their compartments.

The sight puzzled him at first, but then it struck him; although he had been half awake, he was able to realize that the guns on the ship had been destroyed when Sam had used them. He remembered how his parents said they were making an automatic repair system for the ship, and it must have just fixed the cannon.

Feeling like he had a chance to help Sam, he crawled back into the passenger seat. His fatigued body fell onto the seat, as his head landed on the driver's seat. After a small groan, he forced himself onto his elbow, then looked at the steering wheel. He found the fire button, but wasn't completely aware of which cannon it was for. He peeked ahead of the ship to make sure the blast wouldn't accidentally hit Sam. It would be a close call, but he knew it wouldn't hit her, and he didn't have time to re-adjust the aim.

Hoping that the attack would hit its target, Danny pressed the fire button.

- - - - -

Sam froze as she saw the giant gun come out of Skulker's back. She felt slight fear, but it faded quickly. She was starting to feel that she didn't care what he did to her; she couldn't handle what had happened to Danny, and she wanted it to end.

But just before anything could happen, she was caught off guard as she felt a sudden rush streak past her, just barely missing her arm. In the same second, it made contact with Skulker, engulfing him in the plasma ray's light.

Although Sam's stomach had jumped into her throat, she was aware of Skulker's scream, and watched as the blast sent him flying backward, then managed to fall off the piece of ghost land, and disappear from sight.

After he fell, Sam stood there in complete shock. She took deep breaths as she tried to calm herself from the sudden attack.

But when she finally realized that it was a ray from the Spectre Speeder, she spun around. She squinted as she looked at the ship, and her eyes widened as she saw Danny moving around in the passenger's seat.

_He's… alive?_ Sam thought, finding her body frozen with shock. She couldn't believe it; he was alive.

Finding the feeling return to her legs, Sam darted off toward the ship.

- - - - -

After Danny saw Skulker fall off the land, he felt a wave of relief. The blast didn't hit Sam, and she was ok now that Skulker was gone.

A few seconds later, he saw that Sam had turned and was now looking at the ship. It didn't take long before he could see her running toward it.

He wasn't sure what to think or how to feel. She was coming to see him, but what if he heard the voice when she got there? He knew he would have no strength to resist it, and would really end up killing her this time.

But… why was she even there in the first place? Why had she done all of this for him? Sure, they were best friends, but… he hadn't figured it out earlier, and he couldn't now. Why would she be willing to risk getting herself killed to help him?

Although he was worried about what might happen, Danny couldn't stop himself from attempting to get out of the ship. He knew he wouldn't be able to stop the voice if it tried to take over again, but he had to see her one more time. Somehow, even though he didn't know why this voice was consuming all of his energy, he felt that it would soon use up the rest of it.

After forcing himself to get to the door, Danny stepped out of it. But just as his feet came in contact with the ground, his vision blurred, and he collapsed. He made a small yell as his pained body hit the ground, and his eyes shut tightly.

- - - - -

As Sam neared the ship, still unable to believe that Danny was alive, her mind was assaulted with the memory of what had just happened; she didn't know how to stop the Micro-Ghost, and her assumption that Danny was dead had made her think it was pointless to ask. But now, she couldn't find out, and her sudden relief was crushed as she realized that Danny was still going to die.

When she was just a few yards away from the ship, she saw as Danny left the passenger's seat and collapsed on the ground. She closed the distance between them quickly and fell to her knees by his side, watching helplessly as he groaned.

"Danny," Sam choked out, finding sobs escaping as tears streamed down her cheeks. Her heartbeat was almost loud enough to hear as it tried to burst from her chest, and she felt like she was going to be sick. He didn't show any signs that he heard her.

"Danny!" she repeated, finding it more difficult than the first time. His eyes were still shut, but they were no longer shut tight, and he lay on his back, taking deep, struggled breaths.

Sam couldn't take it. She felt so helpless, knowing she couldn't do anything to help him. She could only watch as his energy left his body, and die in front of her.

Still having half a mind not to believe what she was seeing, Sam carefully moved closer to him. She lifted his head and laid it on her lap, keeping one hand on top of his head, and squeezing one of his hands with the other. She stared at his closed eyes, finding her hand gently stroking his hair, hoping it would give him some comfort, anything to help.

Although Danny felt almost no strength left, he had heard Sam say his name. He tried to respond, but he seemed to be unable to talk. He could feel her hand stroking his hair, and despite his feelings, it gave him a bit of comfort, as it was the only thing that gave him a small distraction from the pain.

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. He knew he would soon have no energy, but… Sam was with him. He still half-wished that she hadn't come, hating that she had put herself in so much danger, and was now becoming frantic at watching him slip away in her arms. But… he decided to just be grateful. Grateful that she was there.

Suddenly, he heard a small whisper in his head. He was able to feel a slight anger, as he knew what it meant, although he hadn't heard it many times.

Before he could think, he heard the voice say, _'Well, you've been one tough customer.'_

Danny couldn't handle this. It was enough that this voice was killing him; did it have to bother him right now?

_Just go away…_ he told it in his head. _I give up… I'm not gonna fight you anymore…_

But, the voice didn't listen. _'Well, that's good to know. One more little episode should be enough to finish off your friend, who just happens to be right here, then I'll take the rest of your energy.'_

Danny felt his stomach make a small jump. Instead of just taking his life, it wanted to kill Sam too?

_No…_ Danny said to it. _Just leave her alone… You can have my energy… I don't care… Just… leave her alone…_

The voice paused. _'No, I think I'll make you kill her first. I mean, your love emotion for this person is high… How can I say my work is done if I don't dispose of her first?'_

Danny felt a sudden panic and rage. This thing was making him attack Sam because… it knew he loved her? How did it know? Why was it doing this?

Before he could figure it out, he felt the familiar pang enter his mind as the voice tried to take control of his mind. He didn't have any energy, but he had to fight. There was no way he was going to let this thing hurt Sam.

As he tried to pull away from it, he felt a stronger surge enter his mind. _'You said you weren't going to fight me,' _the voice said, sounding like it was enjoying what it was doing. It's tone dropped to one full of malice. _'I cannot be stopped, so don't even try to fight me.'_

With that, Danny heard himself yell as the voice shot a sharp pain through his head. It pulled at his mind, trying to take control.

As Danny felt the control start to slip away, he felt helpless. He was going to lose it again, and he was going to kill Sam.

Through the pain, an image of Sam entered Danny's mind. He could see her laughing, the smile he loved so much spread across her face, her violet eyes filled with the sparkle that made him feel queasy.

No. He couldn't let this happen. There was no way he was going to let this voice control him and kill Sam.

Just as he decided it, he was suddenly aware that the pain in his head had lessened. It made him refocus on the voice then, just as suddenly as it faded, the pain erupted again.

After a scream of agony, he focused his mind to fight it. He reminded himself that he was doing it for Sam. It made the picture of her laughter come back in his head, making him feel more confident.

As it did, he noticed that the pain began to fade again. He was slightly confused, wondering what was going on.

Then it struck him; whenever he pictured Sam, the voice started to back off. He wasn't sure why, but if he kept thinking about her, it would back off.

With that in mind, Danny thought of another memory. He let his mind randomly pick one, knowing that he couldn't clearly think of a specific one as his mind was still in pain.

An image of Sam when she was five years old came into his mind. He was looking at her through his own eyes, seeing her sitting in the corner of a small classroom by herself. He realized that it was the memory of when he first met her. She had been sitting alone, as all the other kids in their class had made fun of her because she seemed too… different. He had felt bad for her, and approached her. He didn't know why the other kids made fun of her; she seemed nice, and he didn't like seeing her so sad. She looked up at him, and looked at him as if she expected to hear an insult. But he just asked her if she wanted to come play with him, and held out a hand for her to take. She seemed liked she didn't believe him at first, but eventually took his hand and accepted the invitation. They played together all day, and when Danny went home, he was very excited to tell his family that he met a really cool girl named Sam.

The memory lifted Danny's heart. Even though it had happened so long ago, he knew he would never forget when he first met her. The memory had always made him happy every time he thought about it, and thinking about how far they had come, how deep his feelings for her became, made him feel better than anything ever could.

Suddenly, the memory left his mind as he heard a shattering scream. At the same time, a great wave of agony assaulted his mind. He knew it was the voice screaming, and he could hear himself crying out along with it.

Just as suddenly as it came, the pain suddenly ceased, and the scream stopped. He was aware of a small tingling in his chest, and the feeling of something being extracted from it, like a thread being pulled out of his skin. When it stopped, he took a deep breath.

He wasn't sure how or why, but he knew the voice was gone.

Although he knew it was gone, the pain in his body seemed to have stayed. He felt a great wave of fatigue, and felt his consciousness slip away.

- - - - -

Danny's eyes cracked open. His mind took a minute to try and figure out what happened and where he was.

Finally, he realized that he was in a bed. He couldn't see anything past his blurred vision, but he could feel a soft sheet underneath him, and his head propped gently against a fluffy pillow.

Along with these good feelings, he was aware that his body felt very sore; he felt as if he had overworked all of his muscles, and went for days without sleep. It left him feeling exhausted, and like he would never want to get out of bed again.

But just then, he remembered what had happened; he was in the Ghost Zone, and he had somehow managed to get rid of the voice, and Sam was-

"Sam," he said aloud, finding his voice cracking with fatigue. Just after, he heard a muffled sound next to him, almost like a chair creak.

"Danny?" He heard his name called through his hazy mind. But he knew who had said it; he always knew that voice.

Turning his head toward the sound, Danny opened his eyes a little more. After blinking them into focus, he could see Sam and Tucker, both seated differently by his bed, looking at him with great smiles of relief.

"Hey man, how do you feel?" Tucker asked, his joy and relief plain on his face. He was kneeling by the bed, and Sam was sitting on the desk chair, which had been moved next to it.

Danny looked at his friends and managed a very small smile. He wasn't sure if he should answer them truthfully.

"Terrible," he said, adding a bit of humor to his fatigued voice. It earned a small laugh from his friends. Just hearing his voice seemed to make them feel better.

"Sam told me what happened," Tucker said after the short laugh. "You were able to get rid of the Micro-Ghost!"

Danny's eyebrows met. "The what?"

"Oh yeah, sorry," Tucker said. "I forgot you didn't know about that yet." He paused. "Do you want to rest before we tell you?"

"No," Danny said. There was no way he was going to wait; everything that happened had been horrible and confusing, and he wanted to know why it all happened.

"Ok," Tucker agreed. He moved his legs a little as if getting more comfortable in preparation for a long explanation. With a hint of a smile that seemed to refuse to fade at seeing that his friend was going to be ok, he explained everything he could remember. He told him how he found the information, and what it said; how Skulker used the dart for revenge, and that the Micro-Ghost was what was telling him what to do, and how it targeted anyone he felt love for. Sam had told him what happened in the Ghost Zone, so he summed that up too. Throughout the whole thing, Sam was surprisingly quiet.

After a few minutes, he was finished. It hadn't taken him long to say, but it was a lot to take in. Danny was able to hear everything he said, as his head seemed to clear enough for him to listen.

When it was done, Danny looked at the wall opposite his bed. The entire explanation was surprising to him. He never would have thought that what he was hearing was actually a ghost. He couldn't believe that a ghost like that could exist; he had met a lot of dangerous ghosts but… that had to be the worst, and most dangerous he had ever seen.

As they sat in silence, Tucker took his gaze away from Danny and looked at Sam. He realized that she hadn't said a word the whole time, and he was wondering why. He found her watching Danny silently, as if she forgot that anyone else was in the room. She looked relieved, and worried at the same time.

Despite the current situation, Tucker felt his nosy passion come back. He let a hint of a mischievous smile play across his lips as he thought about what he was going to do.

With a casual tone, he said, "Oh yeah." It caused the other two to look at him, finally pulling Sam out of her trance.

"I forgot that I was gonna go keep an eye out for when your parents get home. I'll be right back." With that, he gave Danny a small smile before getting up, heading to Danny's bedroom door, and shutting it after he left.

Sam watched the door close with confusion. We never said he was going to watch for… then it struck her. She knew what Tucker was doing;_ Does he really have to try to make me talk now?_

Sam did tell Tucker what happened in the Ghost Zone, but she didn't tell him everything; only what was important. She didn't tell him that Danny said he loved her before leaving, and she didn't tell him how she acted when she thought he was dying after Skulker was taken care of. She just told him she saw a strange light come from Danny's chest.

So, Tucker unintentionally left her in a very awkward position with Danny; it was the first time they had been alone since he had told her how he felt (not including the Ghost Zone).

As Tucker shut the door, Danny was slightly puzzled. It was kind of weird that he had just left them alone to watch for his parents. Why would he need to-

Wait… he was alone with Sam? Despite his pained body and head, his stomach filled with butterflies; he remembered that he had told her how he felt about her before going into the Ghost Zone. What was she going to say about it? The sudden realization made him want to pull his blanket over his head and disappear. Hey, he was half ghost; he could if he wanted to.

Deciding against it, he looked at Sam. His stomach felt queasy as his eyes met hers. Sure, his body was still in a lot of pain, but seeing her violet eyes helped calm him. Maybe… she didn't remember?

But Sam did remember. She had been thinking about it while she watched Danny rest in his bed before he woke up, along with hoping that he would be ok. She fiddled with her hands, not sure of what to say. She couldn't figure out how she felt. She was nervous, scared, overjoyed, and relieved at the same time (along with wanting to kill Tucker next time she saw him).

After the silence in which the two had been having their own thoughts, Danny finally couldn't take it anymore. He felt embarrassed, and he wanted someone to say something.

With a bit of hesitation, he started to push himself up. He made a small wince as it sent small pains through his body, but he continued to lift himself. He momentarily wondered if it was a good idea.

As he did, he felt Sam's hands touch his shoulder. She carefully helped him get into a sitting position on his bed, so that his back rested against the bed's headboard. When he was positioned, he took a few calming breaths as Sam removed her hands and sat silently.

Sam put her hands in her lap and watched Danny out of the corner of her eye as she tried to calm her burning stomach. Danny finally seemed to catch his breath, but he kept his gaze on the wall opposite his bed, still to nervous to look at her.

Finally, Sam looked at him. She didn't know why she was still so scared, but… why shouldn't she just say it?

It didn't matter that Danny still felt like he desperately needed to sleep; his mind was racing. He was alone with Sam, and she knew how he felt about her. What was he going to do? What was _she_ going to do? He only told her because he thought he was never going to see her again. So, what if she was going to say it made her feel uncomfortable, and she didn't want to be his friend?

Wait… she had been there in the Ghost Zone with him. She had helped him, and almost got killed trying to do it. If she had done all that…

Finally, he looked at her. He had to ask the question that had been bothering him since he knew that she was helping him.

"Sam," he said. She looked up at him.

He hesitated. Should he just ask? He still didn't know if she remembered that he told her how he felt. But it didn't matter.

"Why…" he paused. "Why did you come after me? …Why did you help me?"

Sam seemed a bit surprised at the question. She looked at him with confusion, not sure how to answer.

Danny continued as she didn't answer. He felt embarrassed for bringing it back up, but said, "I… I know I couldn't control it but… I tried to kill you… Why did you help me?"

Sam's heart beat quickly as she tried to think of what to say. How would she say it? Where would she start? She had been waiting so long to tell him how she felt. She only had one reason not to tell him, and that reason was gone.

"Because…" _I'm your friend? _Yes, she was his friend, but that wasn't why she went after him. _Just tell him the real reason._

With less hesitation than she thought it would take, she reached out and took his hand in both of hers. The contact made her stomach burn hotter, and she kept her gaze down.

Danny looked at their hands with complete confusion. His heart accelerated at the contact, and he had no idea what Sam was going to do.

As Sam spoke she found her mouth trying to shut to stop the words. Still keeping her gaze down, she said, "Because… there was no way I could leave you… not when I…" Her heart tried to beat out of her chest, and her mind screamed at her to stay quiet.

But she didn't listen.

Looking up at him, she said, "Because I love you, too."

The words hit Danny like an unexpected brick. He just expected 'Because I'm your friend.' Not, 'I love you too.' The information was so surprising, but he couldn't help feeling nothing but happiness that she felt the same as he did.

Sam thought that her eyes would involuntarily move away from embarrassment, but the shock and happiness she saw enter his kept hers locked on. She didn't know why she expected him to react differently. She had just been telling herself that he would for so long, she couldn't help it. They both just sat there, not knowing what else to say.

Just then, they heard a voice say their names, along with fast footsteps coming down the hall. It made them immediately turn their attention to the door, releasing their hands at the same time.

As soon as they looked, they saw the door fly open, and Tucker enter, saying, "They're here!"

That made them all put their focus on their usual ghost cover up. Sam turned her chair so that it was facing the opposite wall instead of Danny's bed, and Tucker seated himself on a storage chest that was against the same wall as the door. He quickly unzipped his bag and pulled a book out, throwing the bag aside, and opening it to a random page, pretending he was deep in his reading. Danny wanted to stand up or position himself differently, but he knew the ideas would probably cause him to lose consciousness. He didn't have enough energy. So, he just stayed where he was, trying to pretend he was there for comfort, and nothing was wrong.

They sat silently, listening as they heard the two adults enter the front door. They could hear Jack say something loudly, although they didn't know what he said. They heard a quiet answer from Maddie, then hurried footsteps ascend the stairs and make their way to Danny's open bedroom door.

Jack appeared in the doorway after swinging it open (luckily keeping it intact in its hinges), and yelling, "We saw a ghost!"

Just then, Maddie appeared next to him and addressed the three children. "Yes, but we didn't catch it," she said, glancing up at her husband. Her face looked a bit drawn, but not from their failure; it looked more like a 'My husband is driving me nuts' look.

Jack threw off the comment by throwing a fist in the air and saying with a huge smile, "But we'll get it next time!" Without another word, he turned and ran back down the stairs. Maddie let out a tired sigh as she rolled her eyes, then preceded to follow him, shutting the door as she left.

When the door shut, the friends sat in silence. Tucker looked up from his book at the other two, who looked back at him with looks of relief.

"Well, we got out of that easy," Tucker said, putting his book back in his bag.

Danny just nodded in agreement. His mom usually asked him how school was, but she looked too drained to bother asking. Then again, they never went back to school. He wondered if anybody did, and if his friends' parents had been notified. If they had, he hoped they weren't in trouble.

Sam didn't seem to be thinking about that. She was glad that they got off so easily, but she was mostly just glad that Tucker hadn't caught her telling Danny how she felt, and holding his hand. He would have declared they needed a parade.

Partially as a cover up, and also because her mood was good because of what had happened before they had been interrupted, she turned toward her friend and said with her usual teasing tone, "Yeah, barely. You think you reading a book is good cover up? _You_ reading in your spare time has 'suspicious' written all over it." She smiled as she heard Danny give a small chuckle behind her.

Tucker pushed his bag away and glared at her good-naturedly. "Well, excuse me! I didn't see you trying to use any kind of cover up!"

"I don't need cover-up," she said, putting mock passion n her voice. "I can hide anything I want without even trying."

Tucker rolled his eyes in an attempt too look annoyed, but his smile gave away what he was really thinking. "Well, go hide in the shadows next time if the mask is your true talent."

Finally, all three friends laughed. It had been the first time they had enjoyed a time of real laughter together since all of this started. It made them feel better, and realize that, no matter how bad things got, they could still find a way to bring things back to normal.

After the laugh, Tucker looked at his watch. "Well, maybe we should go. I don't know if any of the parents were told about the ghost at school, but if they weren't, they'll be expecting us home like a regular school day." He stood up and put his backpack over his shoulders. He turned to Danny and gave him a small wave, saying with a smile, "See ya later, man. Get some rest, ok?"

Danny nodded and smiled back. "You know I will."

Tucker smiled and went to the door, opening it, and leaving it open as he left.

After he left, Sam looked at Danny. She smiled, letting herself get lost in his sapphire eyes as he smiled back.

But she knew she had to leave. If she didn't get home in time, her parents wouldn't be happy. With a little hesitation, she said, "Bye."

"See you later," Danny said, now finding his eyes drooping. Sam smiled and watched as he turned his head to the side, and practically passed out from the fatigue. She knew after some rest he would be fine.

Before she left, she bent down and gently kissed his cheek. She doubted he knew it, as he looked to be asleep already, but it didn't matter. She stood back up and smiled, thinking about how different things would be from now on. How much better they would be.

Finally, Sam turned and walked out the door. She peeked at Danny, who lay asleep in his bed, and shut the door quietly behind her.

- - - - -

Well, there's the end. I'm sorry this took so long to post. It took me longer than I thought to decide how I wanted the ending to go. I hope you liked it, and please leave a review to let me know.


End file.
